5G Phones to Be 6% of Handset Sales Next Year, Rising to 51% in 2023, Says Gartner
Gartner expects 5G phones to be 51 percent of total handset sales globally in 2023, it reported Wednesday. Mobile operators began launching such service this year in parts of the U.S., South Korea, Switzerland, Finland and the U.K., “but it…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
will take time for carriers to expand 5G coverage beyond major cities,” it said. Gartner estimates 7 percent of global communications service providers “will have a commercially viable wireless 5G service” by next year: “This will mark significant progress from 5G proofs of concept and commercial network construction work in 2018.” Though 2019's first half saw release of the first fifth-generation smartphones, several OEMs likely will introduce more affordable ones in 2020 in a bid to reverse declining sales, it said. Gartner estimates global smartphone shipments will decline 3.8 percent this year to 1.75 billion units. The researcher projects 5G-capable phones will be 6 percent of total phone sales next year and "as 5G service coverage increases, user experience will improve and prices will decrease.”