The number of 5G commercial networks has reached 200 worldwide, and 1,257 5G terminals have been released

According to the latest update from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), as of the end of December, 200 operators in 78 countries had launched one or more 5G services compliant with 3GPP standards.

In addition, 487 operators in 145 countries/regions are investing in 5G, including trials, obtaining licenses, planning, network deployment and launches, compared to 412 operators at the end of 2020.

GSA also reported that 187 operators in 72 countries have launched 5G mobile services, and 83 operators in 45 countries have launched 5G fixed wireless access services that comply with 3GPP standards.

Five operators are said to have announced soft launches of their 5G networks, but are not included in the above data.

The report shows that 99 operators in 50 countries and regions (including those evaluating/testing, piloting, planning, deploying and already launching 5G SA networks) have been identified to invest in 5G SA. GSA has listed 20 operators in 16 countries and regions as operators that have deployed or launched independent 5G networks in public networks.

GSA also included 1,257 released 5G devices, an increase of nearly 125% from 559 a year ago. This includes 614 released 5G mobile phones, an increase of more than 120% from 278 at the end of 2020.

At the same time, there are at least 857 commercial 5G devices on the market, an increase of more than 155% from 335 a year ago.

In a previous report, GSA said operators are increasingly trialing and deploying 5G SA networks.

“Some of the expected benefits of introducing 5G SA technology include faster connection times, support for massive devices, programmable systems and network slicing that enable faster and more flexible service creation (with improved support for SLA management in slicing), and the emergence of Voice over New Radio (VoNR) through a new, cloud-based, virtualized, microservices-based core network infrastructure,” GSA said. “The launch of 5G SA will help simplify architecture, improve security and reduce costs. 5G SA is expected to enable customization and tailor new services and revenue opportunities for enterprise, industry and government customers.”

As of the end of October 2021, GSA has identified 94 operators in 48 countries around the world that are investing in public 5G SA networks.