While mobile operators' activities to popularize new generation 5G services continue, the number of 5G subscribers worldwide exceeded 3 billion in the first quarter of the year.
Ericsson's June 2026 Mobility Report, covering the period 2025-2031, revealed the current situation in mobile communications.
According to the report, in the first quarter of 2026, the number of 5G subscribers worldwide increased by 162 million and exceeded the 3 billion threshold. It is predicted that the number of 5G subscribers worldwide will more than double to 6.4 billion by the end of 2031.
To date, approximately 390 service providers have deployed commercial 5G services, while more than 90 of them have started to provide services in standalone 5G architecture (5G SA).
The 5G mobile subscription rate in Western Europe, North America, Northeast Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is expected to exceed 90 percent by the end of 2031.
Service providers, who are rapidly expanding commercial connection services based on independent 5G network slicing, can thus secure network slices and provide guaranteed service quality for different usage scenarios.
The number of differentiated connection-based commercial services, which was 65 in the November 2025 Mobility Report, increased to 84 in all regions in the June 2026 report, indicating that these services have moved from the early adoption phase to the mainstream commercialization process.
"We are moving to interconnected distributed and autonomous artificial intelligence agents with 5G"
Ericsson CTO and publisher of the report, Erik Ekudden, whose evaluations of the report were included, stated that traffic patterns will change radically with the transition to physical artificial intelligence.
"We are moving from centralized models in data centers to distributed and autonomous AI agents embedded in our devices, vehicles and cities, often interconnected by 5G. Mobile networks are now becoming critical and intelligent infrastructures that meet a variety of application needs," Ekudden said. he said.
Expressing that mobile networks are no longer just connection providers that offer the best they can, Ekudden said, "Mobile networks are becoming critical and intelligent infrastructures that meet various application needs. The element that reflects part of this transformation is the continuous increase in new commercial service offers based on 5G independent network slicing and the number of communication service providers deploying 5G SA." made his assessment.
Service providers offering their services via 5G reached 71 percent
According to the report, speed-based tariff plans for fixed wireless access (FWA) also continue to attract the attention of service providers as a structured revenue generation strategy targeting different market segments.
While service providers offering their services via 5G reached 71 percent, this rate, which was 57 percent in June 2025, recorded the strongest annual increase in the last four years.
The percentage of fixed wireless access service providers offering speed-based tariff plans increased to 57 percent, from 51 percent a year ago.
Adoption of 5G FWA (fixed wireless access) connections is strongest in North America, the Nordic countries, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and parts of Asia.
While North America, Nordic countries, Gulf Cooperation Council countries and some parts of Asia stand out among the regions where fixed wireless access (5G FWA) connections are most widely used, this usage is becoming widespread both in developed markets where more than 95 percent of households are connected to fiber and in markets where the average income per user is low, such as India. But growth remains limited in parts of Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, despite long-term potential.
While changing user behavior is reflected in network traffic statistics, upload-oriented mobile data traffic is growing faster than download-oriented traffic in most service providers, and this difference is becoming increasingly evident in some countries.
This change is driven by the increase in communication carried out via smartphones such as live video calls, the spread of collaboration platforms, users sharing more content and storing their data in the cloud.
According to Ericsson's network traffic measurements, the growth rate of upload-oriented mobile data traffic exceeded download-oriented traffic in 43 of the 55 service providers examined, while the growth rate of upload-oriented mobile data traffic was more than 1.5 times that of download-oriented traffic in 17 of them.
Ericsson's scenario modeling shows that AI could triple or more install-oriented mobile traffic in 2031 compared to 2025.
Network data traffic (for both mobile and fixed wireless access) exceeded expectations, growing 22 percent annually in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. This increase was driven primarily by continued strong growth in India and North America.
The report also shows that the industry is increasingly focusing on 6G as standardization activities continue. Initial expectations are that 6G will fully support integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), seamlessly combine terrestrial networks and satellite networks to reduce coverage gaps, and place energy efficiency at the center of the design. The basis of this transformation is the 6G architecture designed to work with artificial intelligence.
The first viable 6G specifications are expected to be finalized in late 2028 or early 2029. The first commercial 6G services are expected to come online around 2030, after which the pace of adoption will vary across regions and countries. As with 5G launches, the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Gulf countries are expected to be among the early adopters.
Türkiye is ready to meet network needs in 5G
Ericsson Türkiye General Manager Mehmet Ogul also made evaluations about the increasing data traffic in Türkiye and the network needs for new generation communication technologies.
Stating that Türkiye's 5G introduction has made the country ready to meet the network needs required by the artificial intelligence age, Ogul said:
"In this way, an infrastructure that has the flexibility to scale as needs increase, where the uplink (loading capacity), low latency and reliability required by artificial intelligence-supported services are factors, has been created. We work in close cooperation with our customers and business partners within the ecosystem to transform this development into concrete and real applications for institutions and consumers. Ericsson's decision to invest in R&D and local talents further strengthens Türkiye's leading role. This investment is based on artificial intelligence, an embedded technology that will pave the way for new opportunities across telecom, industry and society. "It contributes to the development of 6G."