5G is expanding rapidly in India and this technology can completely change the digital landscape of the country in the coming years. The number of 5G users in India could cross 1.1 billion by 2031, according to a new mobility report from telecom equipment maker Ericsson. This figure will represent approximately 81 percent of total mobile subscriptions in the country. Affordable 5G smartphones, better network coverage and expansion of fixed wireless access (FWA) services are considered the primary drivers of this growth.
**Indian users are rapidly moving towards 5G**
According to the report, by the end of 2025, India will have about 430 million 5G subscribers, accounting for about 35 percent of the total mobile connections. Currently, 4G is the most widely used technology, with a market share of about 46 percent. However, this scenario is going to change in the coming years. It is estimated that the number of 4G users – projected to be around 570 million in 2025 – will fall to around 160 million by 2031 as most users shift to 5G networks.
**India leads the world in mobile data usage**
India already leads the world in terms of mobile data usage per smartphone. Currently, the average Indian smartphone user uses around 37GB of data per month. The report estimates that this usage could increase to about 70GB per month by 2031. The growing popularity of video streaming, cloud-based services and new digital applications are the major factors driving this trend.
**The emergence of new 5G network applications**
The report also highlights that the Indian telecom market is moving beyond legacy internet services and has started adopting advanced 5G use cases. Recently, a telecom company has launched special connectivity services for postpaid customers using 5G Standalone (SA) network slicing technology. This shows that the use of 5G in the future will not be limited to high-speed internet, but will also extend to industries and special services.
**The growing global impact of 5G**
5G is expanding rapidly globally. By the first quarter of 2026, global 5G subscriptions were expected to cross 3.1 billion. Reports estimate that this figure could exceed 6.4 billion by 2031. Currently, around 390 telecom operators are offering commercial 5G services, while more than 90 operators have deployed 5G stand-alone networks.
**Upload traffic is growing faster than download traffic**
Ericsson’s report also shows an interesting change: on many telecom networks, upload traffic is now growing faster than download traffic. People are uploading more data than ever before due to the increased use of video sharing, social media content creation, online assistant apps, and cloud storage services. This is causing significant changes in network traffic patterns.
