How is 5G technology being deployed in Asian markets in 2022?

The race to commercialize 5G services continues as 5G networks are being rapidly deployed globally. Experts say that 5G has developed faster than 4G two years since its launch. 5G is considered the foundation for a series of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI), smart cities, self-driving cars and the Internet of Things (IoT).

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In the 5G segment, the Ericsson Mobility Report published in November 2022 shows that nearly 110 million subscribers were added globally in Q3 2022, bringing the total number of global 5G mobile subscriptions as of the end of September 2022 to around 870 million, reaching 1 billion by the end of 2022 and 5 billion by the end of 2028.

The rapid deployment of 5G comes from many reasons, including the availability of low-cost 5G-enabled devices from many vendors and the early large-scale deployment of 5G in many pioneering markets such as Korea, China, the United States... Major service providers in these markets have announced positive results of 5G subscribers in terms of service revenue and average revenue per user.

As 5G is the new global mobile communications standard, mobile service providers in emerging markets in Asia are also planning to switch off previous mobile generations, such as 2G and 3G, to reuse this frequency spectrum for 4G and 5G networks.

Besides, as countries in Asia are starting or strengthening their digitalization plans, developing 5G is also one of the strategies for countries to achieve a dynamic digital economy.

China

China is considered to have the world's largest 5G network and fiber optic cable. The country has also seen steady growth in the deployment of 5G base stations.

Official data shows that the development of 5G networks in the country has continued to expand. By the end of November 2022, the number of 5G base stations in China stood at 2.29 million, an increase of 862,000 compared to the end of 2021.

In terms of 5G mobile subscribers, China's three largest telecom operators, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, added 34.33 million 5G subscribers in November, bringing the total number of 5G mobile subscribers in China to 595.4 million.

In November last year, the Chinese government also granted the first private 5G network license to Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China to provide 5G connectivity in factories. This move by the Chinese government is in an effort to expand 5G applications to industrial sectors.

According to the plan, China's mobile carriers will expand 5G network coverage to all cities and towns by 2025.

Japan

Commercial 5G networks were launched in the Japanese market by major Japanese mobile carriers NTT Docomo, KDDI and SoftBank in March 2020. The deployment of 5G networks by Japanese mobile service providers initially focused on urban areas and crowded places such as airports, train stations, etc., aiming to cover 95% of the population by March 2024 and 99% of the population by 2031.

5G is one of the keys to facilitating and accelerating the digital transformation of both consumers and businesses in Japan.

After nearly 3 years of commercial 5G network deployment, 5G network coverage in this country has reached nearly 40% of the population, with about 22,000 5G base stations deployed. By March 2022, the number of 5G mobile subscribers in Japan had reached 45 million.

Korea

South Korea was the first country in the world to deploy 5G commercially in April 2019, and is considered one of the pioneers and fastest adopters of 5G technology. The total number of 5G subscribers in South Korea as of the end of July 2022 reached 25.1 million, accounting for 33.3% of the total number of mobile subscribers in the country.

After nearly 4 years of commercial deployment of 5G, in November last year, the Korean government announced the results of its assessment of meeting the conditions for licensing 5G spectrum to network operators.

The assessment results show that mobile network operators have completed the required number of base stations in the 3.5 GHz band (22,500 base stations), but all have failed to reach the target of deploying 15,000 base stations in the 28 GHz band nationwide as committed to the Government.

With such results, the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea has decided to revoke the licenses to use the 28 GHz band of the two carriers KT Telecom and LG Uplus. Meanwhile, the largest mobile carrier in Korea, SK Telecom, has been allowed to extend the deadline until May 2023. After this time, if the carrier fails to fulfill its commitment to deploy 15,000 base stations in the 28 GHz band, the Government will revoke the license like the two carriers above.

“In the future, the government will encourage new mobile operators to enter the field while promoting competition among existing mobile operators, such as granting spectrum licenses to only one operator to promote 5G mobile telecommunications services,” said Park Yun-kyu, vice minister of science and ICT, in a recent statement.

Singapore

Singapore has become the first country in the world to be fully covered by a 5G network based on a standalone architecture (5G SA - Standalone), after the country's Singtel network officially achieved 5G coverage of up to 95%, 3 years earlier than the original target of 2025. This important milestone has made Singapore the first country in the world to be fully covered by a 5G network based on a standalone architecture.

In addition to Singtel, other mobile service providers such as M1 and Starhub are also accelerating 5G coverage, with Singtel's rival M1 now reaching 75% coverage, aiming to reach 95% by the end of 2022. In addition, Singapore's mobile network operators are also focusing on developing innovative 5G-based services for businesses with active support from the Government and regulatory agencies.

Since the launch of 5G, the Singapore Government has identified six strategic areas where 5G can bring opportunities, including maritime operations, urban mobility, smart real estate, Industry 4.0, consumer applications and government applications.

Amid the availability of 5G SA services provided on the 3.5 GHz spectrum, a range of mobile services are being offered to further promote 5G applications to users, such as video streaming and cloud gaming service packages.

Thailand

Thailand is one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to launch commercial 5G services. Thai mobile operators have been quick to roll out 5G coverage nationwide, and 5G now covers more than 80% of the country’s population. As of the end of Q2 2022, Thailand’s 5G mobile subscriptions reached 7.3 million.

Consulting and data analytics firm GlobalData forecasts that total mobile service revenue in Thailand will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.9% from US$8.5 billion in 2022 to US$10.8 billion in 2027, mainly supported by the increase in 5G subscriptions and increasing average data revenue per user.

Malaysia

Malaysia is rolling out 5G through a single state-owned wholesale network, which will then be shared by telcos to reduce costs, improve efficiency and speed up infrastructure build-out. Malaysia aims to reach 40% of its population with 5G by the end of 2022 and 80% by 2024. Currently, five Malaysian mobile operators have started offering 5G services to users.

Philippines

The Philippines was the first country in the region to deploy 5G FWA in June 2019. By February 2020, the country began commercializing 5G mobile services using the 3.5 GHz band. Based on Speedtest results from Ookla, as of the end of March 2022, the largest mobile operator in the Philippines, Smart, had covered 25.5% of the population and deployed 7,300 5G base stations nationwide, while another major mobile operator, Globe, had covered 15.3% of the population.

Indonesia

5G technology has been available in major cities in Indonesia since 2021. Indonesia's leading mobile operators have been providing commercial 5G services through licensed spectrum bands including 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz and 2,300 MHz. However, the deployment of 5G networks has been slowed down due to a lack of mid-band spectrum. New 5G spectrum (700 MHz, 2.6 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz) is expected to be licensed to Indonesian mobile operators from 2023.

India

The auction of 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz bands for 5G in India concluded in early August last year, bringing in nearly $19 billion to the government's coffers, of which India's largest mobile operator Reliance Jio had to spend more than $11 billion to own the frequency spectrum needed for 5G deployment.

According to recent reports, India's two largest mobile operators, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, have deployed nearly 33,000 base stations for 5G services by the end of 2022. 5G coverage is also being continuously expanded by Indian mobile operators. To date, Reliance Jio has deployed commercial 5G in 78 cities across India and is expected to have nationwide 5G coverage by December 2023; meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has also covered 5G in 17 cities and is expected to have nationwide coverage by March 2024.

Unlike other countries in the region, Vietnam wants to promote domestic companies to research, produce and commercialize 5G equipment made in Vietnam itself.

Starting 5G testing in 2020, Vietnam is one of the earliest countries to pilot and apply 5G compared to other regions and the world. As of October 2022, commercial 5G testing is taking place in 55 provinces and cities.

To further popularize this technology, in the coming time, Vietnam will pilot 5G in high-tech zones, universities, research institutes, etc. Vietnam also aims to have 100% of the population have 5G connection by 2030.