India is projected to reach more than 1.1 billion 5G subscriptions by the end of 2031, with an estimated subscription penetration of about 81%. The rapid growth of 5G adoption in India is fueled by the increasing availability of affordable 5G-enabled smartphones and devices, expanded network coverage across nearly all districts, and the rising deployment of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services.
According to a report by Ericsson, the number of commercial differentiated connectivity service offerings based on 5G SA network slicing from Communications Service Providers (CSPs) is continuously expanding on a global scale. By the end of 2025, 5G subscriptions in India had already reached 430 million, constituting 35% of mobile subscriptions. The report predicts that 4G subscriptions will decrease from approximately 570 million in 2025 to nearly 160 million by 2031 as users transition to 5G technology.
Currently, 4G remains the dominant mobile technology in India, representing 46% of mobile subscriptions. India also leads globally in mobile data consumption per smartphone, with an average monthly usage of 37 GB, expected to almost double to 70 GB by 2031. Nitin Bansal, the Managing Director of Ericsson India, highlighted that India’s rapid 5G adoption is reshaping consumer experiences through enhanced mobile broadband and 5G FWA, fostering inclusion, governance, and innovation at scale, and establishing a robust foundation for Digital India.
Recently, a service provider in India introduced differentiated connectivity services based on network slicing for its postpaid 5G customers, indicating the emergence of advanced 5G use cases in the market. The global 5G mobile subscriptions surpassed three billion in Q1 2026, with a significant increase in 5G Standalone (SA) network slicing commercial offerings from CSPs. Uplink traffic is experiencing faster growth than downlink for most service providers, primarily driven by smartphone communication and collaboration apps, user-generated content sharing, and cloud storage.
