By 2025, 5G users will account for 53% of the total population

In 2020, more than 1 billion people are using 5G networks, and by 2022, that number will double.

According to an analysis by Bankr, in four years, about 4.1 billion people will have access to 5G coverage. By 2025, this figure will reach 254%.

Bankr used data from Ericsson's radio base station installations combined with estimated coverage for each of the six population density categories. In 2020, about 1.17 billion people used 5G, or about 15% of the population. Bankr estimates that by 2022, that number will double, with 2.5 billion people having access to the internet. By 2025, 4.41 billion people will be able to use 5G services, or 53% of the world's population.

Analysts point out that Asia, the United States and some parts of Europe are driving the expansion of 5G services. Asia is in the lead, while the United States is developing policies to ensure that the digital divide does not deepen further as 5G expands.

Forrester predicts that nationwide 5G from major U.S. telecom networks will not be enough to meet demand, and private 5G networks deployed and developed by manufacturers such as Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia will fill the gap. By 2021, private 5G networks will be used in the AR/VR fields of factory floor automation, remote inspection, surveillance, quality assurance, remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and employee safety.

Due to the epidemic, the speed of 5G installation slowed down in 2020. Gartner predicts that 5G investment will rebound in the new year, and the construction of 5G network infrastructure will exceed LTE/4G in 2022. Kosei Takiishi, senior research director at Gartner, said that communication service providers will "gradually add independent functions to their non-independent 5G networks" and by 2023, "15% of CSPs worldwide will operate 5G independent network groups."

Global cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies has discovered several potential vulnerabilities in 5G standalone networks that could lead to a denial of service to customers.

In a report, the researchers analyzed the security of the network architecture, the interaction of network elements, user authentication and registration procedures, and outlined possible flaws.

Esther Shein reports on TechRepublic that investing companies plan to increase security spending on 5G services next year. A report from AT&T's cybersecurity division found that 83% of respondents said network-based application attacks would be a challenge when implementing 5G. The report also listed 5G security issues such as data accessed by mobile terminals, the need for more specific security policies, and a higher likelihood of DDoS attacks.

China's 5G speeds up again

China has always been in the first group in 5G construction. In 2020, my country added approximately 580,000 new 5G base stations and promoted the joint construction and sharing of 330,000 5G base stations. The goal of 5G coverage in all cities and counties set at the beginning of the year has been achieved.

In terms of planning, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that in 2021, it will orderly promote the construction and application of 5G networks, accelerate 5G coverage in major cities, promote joint construction and sharing, and build more than 600,000 new 5G base stations. In addition, it is necessary to coordinate the deployment of data centers and computing facilities with 5G construction as the driving force. At the same time, it will focus on 10 key industries, form 20 typical industrial application scenarios, carry out industrial 5G private network pilots, and publish 5G millimeter wave frequency planning for some frequency bands in due course.