4G network reaches 7.6b people as 5G penetration hits 54%

75 countries shut down 2G, 3G networks

Fourth-generation (4G) technology has emerged as the most dominant network across the globe, with about 7.6 billion people now enjoying the service.
 
GSMA revealed this in its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity report, released on Monday, where it also disclosed that 5G now covers more than half of the world’s population.

In Nigeria, data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that 4G network has reached 50.8 per cent of the population, followed by 2G, which covers 38.6 per cent; 3G, 7.38  per cent and 5G, 3.17 per cent in the country.
 
GSMA further disclosed that while almost 150 million additional people were covered by 4G networks for the first time in 2024, the rate of deployment has been slowing over the past few years as operators face diminishing returns on investment.    

“Almost 7.6 billion people worldwide now have 4G coverage, equivalent to 93 per cent of the global population. The majority of network investment continues to be in 5G deployments. 5G coverage has now reached more than half the world’s population (54 per cent or 4.4 billion people) with more than 700 million additional people covered in 2024.”
 
The telecom body observed that the sunsetting of legacy networks continues, but not in all countries.

It noted that, given declining traffic on 2G and 3 G networks, combined with the financial burden of maintaining legacy infrastructure and the need to use spectrum efficiently, many operators have either shut down or are in the process of sunsetting 2G and 3 G networks.
 
According to it, by the end of 2024, there were 169 2G and 3G sunsets in 75 countries, nearly three-quarters of which were shut down following the launch of 5G.    
  
It, however, said the speed of sunsetting differs by region. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3G is still the dominant technology, with only one country (South Africa) currently planning to sunset both its 2G and 3G networks. Sunsets are conditional on enabling spectrum policies and the ability of operators to migrate consumers and businesses to 4G or 5G devices.
  
GSMA noted that LMICs continue to see increased data usage and improvements in network quality, but large gaps persist. It said that with more consumers migrating to 4G and especially 5G, average data traffic per user continues to increase, reaching almost 16 GB per connection per month in 2024.
  
However, it noted that there remain significant differences by region and level of economic development. It revealed that traffic per connection reached more than 25 GB in high-income countries, compared to 14 GB in LMICs.
 
In terms of network quality, GSMA said the consumer experience on mobile networks continued to see significant improvement in 2024, with global average download speeds increasing from 51 to 64 Mbps.
  
While average download speeds in high-income countries reached more than 120 Mbps, they remain below 30 Mbps in LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, and stand at 44 Mbps in other LMICs.
  
The report further revealed that users drop off at each stage of the journey to mobile Internet use, with larger drop-offs seen in certain countries and among specific demographics. People tend to experience common milestones on the journey to adopting and using the mobile Internet. This journey typically starts with owning a handset (stage 1), progresses to being aware of mobile internet (stage 2) and then owning an Internet-enabled phone (stage 3).
 
It was observed that phone ownership is typically followed by mobile Internet adoption (stage 4), and regular (stage 5) and diverse (stage 6) mobile Internet use.
  
GSMA observed that in the majority of survey countries, the largest drop-off tends to take place between mobile Internet awareness (stage 2) and Internet-enabled phone ownership (stage 3), particularly for rural respondents and women.
  
The telecom body said, for example, in Nigeria, 78 per cent of rural respondents are aware of mobile Internet (stage 2), but only 39 per cent own an Internet-enabled phone (stage 3) – a drop-off of 39 percentage points. This drop-off is also significant for urban respondents but smaller, at 24 percentage points.  
  
Similarly, women, who are aware of the mobile Internet, are less likely to own an Internet-enabled phone than their male counterparts. However, once people own an Internet-enabled phone (stage 3), most use mobile Internet (stage 4). Therefore, focusing efforts on improving Internet-enabled phone ownership among rural populations and women who are already aware of it (at stage 2) can help close the mobile Internet urban-rural and gender gaps in countries where there is a similar trend.