{"id":41460,"date":"2022-12-21T09:46:26","date_gmt":"2022-12-21T09:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/get-involved\/gsma-membership\/gsma_resources\/stable-and-expanding-the-state-of-worldwide-5g-in-2022\/"},"modified":"2022-12-21T09:46:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-21T09:46:26","slug":"stable-and-expanding-the-state-of-worldwide-5g-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"gsma_theme_resources","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/get-involved\/gsma-membership\/gsma_resources\/stable-and-expanding-the-state-of-worldwide-5g-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Stable and Expanding: The State of Worldwide 5G in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

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5G is no longer a new technology, however, consumers in many countries are still waiting to see the full benefits of 5G (or even to connect to 5G at all). We examined\u00a0Speedtest Intelligence<\/a>\u00ae data from Q3 2022 Speedtest\u00ae results to see how 5G performance has changed since\u00a0last year<\/a>, where download speeds are the fastest at the country level, and how satellite technologies are offering additional options to connect. We also looked at countries that don\u2019t yet have 5G to understand where consumers are seeing improvements in 4G LTE access.<\/p>\n

5G speeds were stable at the global level<\/h2>\n

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In 2021, we discussed how an expansion of 5G access led to a decline in overall speed at the global level. This year showed a stabilization in overall speed, even as 5G access broadened, with a median global 5G download speed of 168.27 Mbps in Q3 2022 as compared to 166.13 Mbps in Q3 2021. Median upload speed over 5G slowed slightly to 18.71 Mbps (from 21.08 Mbps) during the same period. According to the\u00a0Ookla\u00ae 5G Map<\/a>\u2122, there were 127,509 5G deployments in 128 countries as of November 30, 2022, compared to 85,602 in 112 countries the year prior.<\/p>\n

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates led countries for 5G speeds<\/h2>\n

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South Korea and the U.A.E. had the fastest median download speed over 5G at 516.15 Mbps and 511.70 Mbps, respectively, during Q3 2022, leading a top 10 list that included Bulgaria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Kuwait, New Zealand, Bahrain, and Brazil. Bulgaria, Singapore, Bahrain, and Brazil were new to the top 10 in 2022, while Norway, Sweden, China, and Taiwan fell out of the top 10.<\/p>\n

Satellite became more accessible but performance slowed<\/h2>\n

2022 saw a proliferation of fast, low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet from Starlink across the world. Q1 2022 saw\u00a0Starlink speeds increase year over year<\/a>\u00a0in Canada and the U.S., with Starlink in Mexico having the fastest satellite internet in North America, Starlink in Lithuania the fastest in Europe, Starlink in Chile the fastest in South America, and Starlink in Australia the fastest in Oceania.<\/p>\n

Q2 2022 saw Starlink speeds decrease<\/a>\u00a0in Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. from Q1 2022 as Starlink crossed the 400,000 user threshold across the world. Starlink in Puerto Rico debuted as the fastest satellite provider in North America. Starlink outperformed fixed broadband averages in 16 European countries. Starlink in Brazil had the fastest satellite speeds in South America. And Starlink in New Zealand was the fastest satellite provider in Oceania.<\/p>\n

During Q3 2022,\u00a0Starlink performance dipped once again<\/a>\u00a0from Q2 2022 in Canada and the U.S., while remaining about the same in Chile. Starlink in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands had the fastest satellite speeds in North America, while Starlink in Brazil again was the fastest satellite provider in South America.<\/p>\n

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With Viasat, HughesNet, and Project Kuiper set to launch huge LEO constellations in 2023, consumers around the world are poised to have more fast satellite internet options, particularly as the European Commission makes its own play for a constellation and Eutelsat and OneWeb potentially merging.<\/p>\n

5G Availability points to on-going challenges<\/h2>\n

5G Availability measures the proportion of Speedtest users with 5G-capable handsets, who spend a majority of time connected to 5G networks. It\u2019s therefore a function of 5G coverage and adoption. We see wide disparity in 5G Availability among markets worldwide, with for example the U.S. recording 54.3% in Q3 2022, well ahead of markets such as Sweden and the U.A.E., with 8.6% and 8.3% respectively.<\/p>\n

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Critical levers for mobile operators to increase 5G Availability include:<\/p>\n