As of the end of September 2023, GSA has determined that 578 operators from 173 countries and regions worldwide are investing in 5G through experimentation, license purchase, planning, network deployment, and commercial use. This number does not include nearly 200 companies that obtained priority access licenses during the auction of CBRS spectrum in the United States, which may be used for 5G.
Some details:
-300 operators from 114 countries and regions have launched one or more 5G services that meet the 3GPP standard.
-290 operators from 113 countries and regions have launched or tested 5G mobile services.
-152 operators from 70 countries and regions have launched 5G FWA (Fixed Wireless Access) services that comply with the 3GPP standard (just over 52% of operators that have already launched 5G services).
-Thirteen operators have announced the soft start (or trial operation) of 5G networks, which is not included in the data released above.
-121 operators are investing in 5G SA (5G independent) networks through evaluation/testing, pilot, planning, deployment, and commercialization. Among them, 43 operators have launched or deployed public 5G SA networks.
According to GSA’s data from the first two quarters, as of the end of September, the global 5G and 5G SA network investment and commercial new additions were significantly higher than the previous two quarters. As of the end of September, there were 43 new operators globally investing in 5G, compared to 11 and 9 operators as of the end of June and March, respectively; There are 6 new operators globally investing in 5G SA networks, compared to 0 and 3 in the quarter ended June and March, respectively. Overall, since last year, the development process of 5G SA worldwide has significantly slowed down.