5G mobile use is set to increase 264% by 2027
The introduction of 5G to the general public hasn’t got off to the best start.
Press around it has ranged from the bad to bizarre, with national security concerns over its rollout in the UK, airlines warning its signals may interfere with aircraft navigation systems, and (unfounded) online conspiracy theories accusing it of causing Covid-19.
Despite all that, the rollout is well underway, involving the creation of ‘cell sites’ around the world through antennas and other telecoms equipment.
So… what is 5G?
In a nutshell, 5G is the fastest-ever version of wireless technology; but it also has a greater capacity than 3G or 4G, meaning more devices can connect to it and do more sophisticated things, more quickly, without overloading the network.
That means it’s not just about loading things more quickly on your phone, but starting to connect more and more devices to the kind of network we already use on our phones. As well as laptops, that could be driverless vehicles (from cars to trucks to tractors), drones, traffic lights and other ‘smart city’ tools, agricultural devices, interactive public experiences through things like VR headsets… the list goes on.
“One big area of impact will be on financial services,”
Jonathan Merry, CEO of MoneyTransfers.com
“We’ve already seen the rapid rise of mobile banking, with customers demanding faster, more accessible and wide-ranging banking services at their fingertips, and of course the growth of mobile payments, which play a key role in countries all around the world.
See more: The new video future of 5G Telco TV
“5G will allow for super-fast and even more sophisticated interactions with your bank through your phone. Banks and ATMs will have the potential to be connected to 5G networks, allowing more sophisticated network-enabled services.
“As a hypothetical example, you could be using an ATM in Japan. It could use facial recognition technology to get you into your bank account securely, know you need an English-language service, connect you with a virtual assistant, and perform a far greater range of banking services than currently possible.
Jonathan Merry, CEO of MoneyTransfers.com
“This sort of hyper-personalised experience will also grow in areas like airports, some of which already feature screens that change to display tailored gate details depending on who is looking at them. And look at services that have rolled out such as Amazon’s checkout-free stores – this is the kind of consumer service product that 5G will enable.”
Growth of 5G
MoneyTransfers.com looked at how use of 5G devices is set to grow in the coming years. We found the market size for 5G-related devices is predicted to grow by 222% to $663.93 billion between 2022 and 2030, as the number of mobile phones connected to 5G is set to increase 264% to $4.389 billion by 2027.
The region with the biggest share of these 5G mobiles will be Asia Pacific, with 53%, followed by North America at 51% – well ahead of 20% globally. Regions like Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Russia/CIS countries will be far further behind.
