China Predicted to Have 1.6 Billion 5G Connections by 2023

5G has been touted as the next big step in the internet’s evolution because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up bringing far faster speeds to the table. China is emerging as a global leader when it comes to 5G, with the East Asian superpower rapidly creating the network and infrastructure required to make 5G commonplace.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 5G is projected to be the most common form of internet connection being used in Mainland China as early as 2024. What’s more, China will cross the billion connections mark by 2025. If these predictions, which come from GSMA, hold true, there will be over 1.6 billion 5G users in China by 2030 who will represent 88% of the overall population.

It's hard to describe just how dominant China has become in the 5G race. 60% of all 5G users around the world live in China, and this number is only expected to grow in the coming years. Understandably, this will lead to a rapid decline in LTE.

Back in 2022, 64% of Chinese internet users used LTE, but that number is expected to free fall and sink beneath the 50% mark this year. According to GSMA, the widespread adoption of 5G will add nearly $300 billion to the Chinese economy by 2030, or $290 billion to be precise.

This is also something that will help make the Internet of Things far more common than might have been the case otherwise. GSMA’s report indicates that the number of IoT connections in China, which reached 1.8 billion last year, could double in 2023 to cross 3.6 billion with all things having been considered and taken into account.

In spite of the fact that this is the case, some are criticizing the Internet of Things due to its broad security risks. 5G will only serve to make these risks more pronounced, so it will be interesting to see how China handles these issues as it moves forward with the 5G revolution.


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