5G has crossed another large, slightly abstract but very real milestone: Ericsson says global 5G users passed 3 billion in the first quarter of 2026, reaching 3.1 billion after 162 million new additions in three months. The Swedish vendor is also sticking to a familiar telecoms script for the next generation, saying 6G standards should be finalized in 2028-2029, with the first commercial services expected in 2030.
That kind of growth is what operators like to show investors, especially after years of expensive spectrum auctions and network rollouts. It also underlines a blunt reality: 5G is no longer a premium feature in a few rich markets. It is becoming the default mobile layer, and the fight is now over coverage quality, standalone deployments, and how quickly traffic shifts away from older networks.
5G traffic is already doing the heavy lifting
Ericsson says 390 operators worldwide have launched commercial 5G networks, with more than 90 of them deploying 5G SA, or standalone networks. That matters because SA is the version operators actually need if they want lower latency, better slicing, and fewer excuses. By the end of 2025, 5G networks were carrying 48% of global mobile data traffic, and Ericsson expects that share to climb to 85% by the end of 2031.
- Global 5G users: 3.1 billion
- New users added in the first quarter of 2026: 162 million
- Commercial 5G operators worldwide: 390
- Operators deploying 5G SA: more than 90
- 5G share of mobile data traffic by end of 2025: 48%
- Expected 5G share by end of 2031: 85%
5G adoption nears 90% in Western Europe and North America
Ericsson expects Western Europe, North America, Northeast Asia, and the Gulf region to lead 5G adoption by 2031, each approaching 90% user penetration. That is the usual pattern: wealthy markets with dense urban populations, stronger carrier investment, and fewer excuses about rural economics. The more interesting question is not whether 5G grows, but how much of the remaining world is skipped over until the next upgrade cycle starts.
There is also a familiar race forming around 6G. Ericsson says the standard should be finished in 2028-2029, with the first commercial launches in 2030. The US, China, Japan, and South Korea are expected to be among the first to deploy it, which sounds a lot like the early 5G playbook: advanced markets go first, everyone else watches the demos and waits for the price tag to make more sense.
Russia is still working on 5G spectrum access
While Ericsson is sketching the road to 6G, some markets are still trying to clear basic 5G spectrum hurdles. In Russia, authorities are reportedly preparing to assign operators Vympelkom, MTS, Megafon, and T2 frequencies in the 4.63-4.99 GHz range for 5G deployments at the end of June. The report also says iPhone support for the technology is not expected, which is a neat reminder that network strategy and device support do not always move in sync.
The next phase of mobile networks will probably be less about flashy speed claims and more about who can actually industrialize the infrastructure. 5G is entering its mass-market era; 6G is already being penciled into the calendar. The gap between those two facts is where most of the telecom industry will spend the next few years.