1 Ericsson Mobility Report | November 2021
ericsson.com/
mobility-report
Ericsson
Mobility Report
Q4 2022 Update
This document is a scheduled update to the quarterly
subscription and traffic data section in the Ericsson
Mobility Report, released in November 2022
To view or download a copy of the original report,
please visit: www.ericsson.com/mobility-report
2 Ericsson Mobility Report | Q4 2022 Update | February 2023
Mobile subscriptions
Q4 2022
In Q4 2022, 5G exceeded 1 billion
subscriptions globally.
• In Q4 2022, the total number of mobile a year-on-year increase of 5 percent. while WCDMA/HSPA subscriptions
subscriptions reached around 8.4 billion, Mobile broadband accounts for declined by 89 million. GSM/EDGE-only
with a net addition of 39 million 86 percent of all mobile subscriptions. subscriptions dropped by 40 million during
subscriptions during the quarter. • 5G subscriptions1 grew by 136 million the quarter, and other technologies3
• Nigeria accounted for the most net during the quarter, lifting the total to just decreased by about 4 million.
additions during the quarter (+4 million), above 1 billion. 235 communications • The number of unique mobile subscribers
followed by the Philippines (+4 million) service providers have launched is 6.1 billion. The difference between the
and Indonesia (+3 million). commercial 5G services and around number of subscriptions and the number
• Global mobile subscription penetration 35 have deployed or launched of subscribers is due to inactive
was 106 percent. 5G standalone (SA) networks.2 subscriptions, multiple device ownership
• The number of mobile broadband • 4G subscriptions increased by 36 million and/or the optimization of subscriptions
subscriptions grew by about 80 million to around 5.1 billion, representing for different types of calls.
in the quarter, totaling 7.2 billion, 60 percent of all mobile subscriptions,
Subscription penetration Q4 2022 (percent of population)
138%
130% Central and
Western Europe Eastern Europe*
109%
North America
121%
77% China
89% 111% India**
Middle East
Africa 118%
APAC***
106%
Latin
America
*Central and Eastern Europe region includes Russia.
**India region includes India, Nepal and Bhutan.
***Excluding China and India.
1
A 5G subscription is a 5G service agreement and an associated 5G-capable device.
2
GSA (January 2023).
3
Mainly CDMA2000 EVDO, TD-SCDMA and Mobile WiMAX.
3 Ericsson Mobility Report | Q4 2022 Update | February 2023
Total4 and net additions for mobile subscriptions Q4 2022 (million)
North America 410 (+3)
Latin America 720 (+4)
Western Europe 550 (+2)
Central and
565 (0)
Eastern Europe
Middle East 435 (+3)
Africa 1,250 (+15)
APAC (excluding
1,660 (+9)
China and India)
China 1,705 (+3)
India, Nepal
1,090 (0)
and Bhutan
Top three countries by net additions Q4 2022
Nigeria The Philippines Indonesia
+4 million +4 million +3 million
There are now 8.4 billion mobile 5G subscriptions now Mobile broadband accounts for
subscriptions globally. exceed 1 billion. 86 percent of all mobile subscriptions.
8.4 1 bn bn 86 %
4
Historical data is revised if the underlying data changes, for example if service providers report updated subscription figures.
4 Ericsson Mobility Report | Q4 2022 Update | February 2023
Mobile network
traffic Q4 2022
Mobile network data traffic grew 40 percent
between Q4 2021 and Q4 2022, reaching
118 EB per month.
The quarter-on-quarter mobile network increasing average data volume per
data traffic growth between Q3 2022 and subscription, fueled primarily by increased
Q4 2022 was 10 percent. Total monthly viewing of video content. There are large
global mobile network data traffic reached differences in traffic levels between
118 EB. In absolute numbers, this means markets, regions and service providers.
that mobile network data traffic has The graph below shows the total global
doubled in just two years. monthly network data traffic from Q4 2015
Over the long term, traffic5 growth to Q4 2022, along with the year-on-year
is driven by both the rising number percentage growth for mobile network
of smartphone subscriptions and an data traffic.
Global mobile network data traffic and year-on-year growth (EB per month)
Data Year-on-year growth
120 120
100 100
Total (uplink + downlink) traffic (EB per month)
Year-on-year growth (percent)
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Source: Ericsson traffic measurements (Q4 2022).
Note: Mobile network data traffic also includes traffic generated by Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services.
5
Traffic does not include DVB-H, Wi-Fi or Mobile WiMAX. VoIP is included.
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