•5G mast
About 783 mobile operators in over 200 countries are on the journey to complete the deployment of the fifth-generation (5G) network.
This comes as 326 5G networks have gone live across the globe, according to the Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA), reports The Guardian.
The telecoms advocacy body also noted that 5G and the digital transformation of the enterprise sector will enable an additional $4.7 trillion to world GDP and 7.3 million new jobs across industries by 2023. It said this is because solutions that utilise 5G technologies will enable impacts by making enterprises more productive and efficient.
Commercial 5G deployment is in its third year in Nigeria, with about four million of the 169 million telephone users using the network.
According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as of January 2025, 5G, which has been deployed by MTN, Mafab and Airtel, had just 2.54 per cent market penetration.
GSMA, in its ‘Destination Growth: The Journey to Complete 5G,’ study, noted that as global growth slows, enterprises are desperately seeking new ways to improve efficiency and productivity, manage risk, increase visibility and control their operations.
It said complete 5G is the term used to describe both completing the technical deployment of 5G standalone networks and the whole-of-business journey to create, sell, deliver and support 5 G-supported enterprise services.
According to it, complete 5G describes 5G Stand Alone (SA) that offers the performance, reliability and scalability to address enterprise needs across varied markets.
It stressed that complete 5G involves more than this, saying this must transition operators from providing great connectivity to enabling transformative business solutions that integrate an array of other technologies.
Simplifying the 783 operators, GSMA in the study noted that 5G SA are some 61 operators who classify themselves as having a 5G SA network. It said they have deployed 5G in the radio network and controller core, albeit not necessarily nationwide.
According to it, 265 operators classify themselves as having a 5G non-standalone network, or 5G NSA.
GSMA disclosed that these operators have begun or progressed with the deployment of a 5G access network. It said the access network is part of the 5G network that provides access to customers’ devices, consisting of radio equipment that utilises spectrum allocated for 5G use, often installed on access infrastructure (such as towers or base stations).
The telecoms advocacy body disclosed that there are 457 operators today which classify themselves as having a 4G LTE network. These have not yet implemented any aspect of a 5G network.
It said this could be because 5G spectrum in their market is yet to be licensed. It may also be that they’ve not yet decided to implement 5G due to commercial, technical or financial reasons.
Further, GSMA said some operators in one group may already be transitioning into the next group. For instance, about 5G NSA operators have installed elements of a 5G core, while some 5G SA operators have just begun the journey to building a 5G core.
It said most 5G SA operators run the network alongside a 5GNSA and/or 4G LTE network, stressing that in all cases, the transition to a cloud-native network architecture will provide operators with the flexibility to move ahead with capturing enterprise opportunity and unlocking revenue streams.
GSMA pointed out that pathways to complete 5G are likely to be unique for every operator, with common patterns across groups.
In addition, it said some operators are incumbents and others are challengers, and they play in vastly different markets with unique industry composition, demographics, spectrum holdings, device capabilities and buyer preferences.
The body observed that complete 5G is expected to provide the lion’s share of mobile revenue growth this decade. According to it, the mobile operator industry’s enterprise revenue growth opportunity enabled by Complete 5G is $127 billion up to 2030, which accounts for around 70 per cent of the estimated $186 billion of new revenue expected to be generated for mobile operators up to 2030.
Globally, GSMA said it is reasonable to expect that getting to complete 5G is a necessary condition for capturing most of the new revenue growth that is available for mobile operators.
