The GSA confirmed that there are now 153 operators in 64 countries/territories who have (as of mid-March 2021) announced 3GPP-compatible 5G launches for either mobile or FWA services. In total, there are now 428 operators in 132 countries/territories investing in 5G mobile or 5G FWA/home broadband networks.

This significant milestone follows GSA data released earlier this month confirming that the number of announced 5G devices had passed the 600 mark, representing an increase of 21 percent over the last three months. The number of 5G devices understood to be commercially available has also grown rapidly, exceeding 400 devices for the first time. The total number of commercially available 5G devices now stands at 404, which is an increase of 33.3 percent over the last three months, and represents 64.3 percent of all announced 5G devices.

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The new “LTE to 5G: March 2021 – Global update” report, now published, is available now to GSA Members and GSA Associates. 

GSA has identified 68 operators in 38 countries investing in 5G standalone for public networks in the form of trials, plans, paying for licenses, deploying or operating networks. GSA will be releasing more 5G NSA and 5G SA data in its “GSA Snapshot Webinar: 5G Stand Alone” on Wednesday 17th March at 16:00 GMT.

“Today, not only are 428 operators in 132 markets investing in 5G mobile or 5G FWA/home broadband networks, but they are also rapidly coming to market with commercial 5G services,” said Joe Barrett, President of Global mobile Suppliers Association. “The global data in our unique GAMBoD database now identifies 176 operators in 76 countries/territories that have stated that they have activated one or more 5G sites within their live commercial network. Against a background of continued global investment in LTE, LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced Pro, it is clear that operators are continuing to demand more capacity, enhanced performance and improved efficiencies to lower delivery cost.”

The latest Evolution from LTE to 5G: Global Market Status report also confirms operators’ continued investment in 4G LTE networks and services, recording 917 operators in 243 countries/territories that have stated plans to invest or are actively investing in LTE for public networks. LTE ‘not-spots’ are now limited to just a handful of markets globally.