GSMA Predicts China's 5G Network will Reach One Billion Connections by 2025

The LTE network will drop by more than 50 percent in China (photo: Pexel)

JAKARTA - The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) estimates that 5G networks will overtake LTE as the dominant mobile technology in China by 2024, with 1 billion next-generation connections, and reach the milestone by 2025.

In its annual Mobile Economy China report, which was released at an event in Beijing on March 26, the GSMA predicts 5G connections will reach 1.6 billion by 2030, when adoption will reach 88 percent.

The report also stated that Mainland China accounted for more than 60 percent of global 5G connections by the end of 2022, with the number of compatible base stations growing by nearly 900.000 to more than 2.3 million.

With the increase in 5G networks in China, LTE adoption is expected to fall from 64 percent at the end of 2022 to less than 50 percent this year.

In a keynote at the post-Mobile World Congress 2023 sharing event, GSMA director general Mats Granryd called on the industry to work together in entering a new era, where network will meet cloud, industry-changing digitization, and the metaverse.

"With our collective vision, wisdom and action, we can overcome challenges and shape the future of mobile," said Grandyd, quoted from the official MWC website.

Looking at the wider impact, GSMA estimates that 5G technology will also add value to China's economy to add 290 billion US dollars by 2030.

On the other hand, GSMA also stated that licensed cellular IoT connections are expected to grow from 1.8 billion in 2022 to 3.6 billion in 2030.