A September 21 press release by 5G Americas announced that "Global 5G Connections are Doubling Every Year." Data from Omdia and 5G Americas apparently indicates that global wireless 5G connections rose to 813 million by the end of the second quarter of this year. They forecast that global 5G connections will reach 1.1 billion by the end of 2022.
By region, North America had a total of 99 million 5G and 502 million LTE connections by the end of Q2 2022. This translates into an addition of 17 million 5G connections for the quarter – a gain of 20.7 percent over Q1 2022. Additionally, CTIA notes fast growth in 5G uptake in the United States, which now identifies 315 million Americans covered by 5G and one-third of American adults having an active 5G device. Overall, a total of 137 million 5G connections is projected to come from North America by the end of 2022.
The lion's share of 5G connections growth in North America belongs to the U.S. A January 7 blog post called attention to an Ookla report that ranked the U.S. #1 in terms of 5G network availability. This growth in 5G in the U.S. critically depends on strong private sector capital investment – a factor highlighted in a September 15 blog post by Free State Foundation Senior Fellow Andrew Long. And a replenished supply of new spectrum for licensed and unlicensed wireless use will also be needed in order to maximize the value of 5G networks for Americans. On the pressing need for more mid-band spectrum for commercial wireless use, see Mr. Long's September 22 blog post.
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