‘Nearly 40 million phones to be 5G-enabled by year-end’

Telecom market trackers say 37-40 million mobile phone users in India will be on smartphones supporting 5G technology by the end of this year, 10 times higher than in 2020, despite the fact that there is no visibility on the rollout of the next-generation networks in the country.

In fact, 5G smartphone sales are expected to cross 30% by volume and 50% by value in the festive season, amidst a huge brand push and with consumers looking to future-proof buys. “5G-installed base is expected to be around 40 million by 2021-exit. 5G shipments will grow 10x in 2021 over 2020,” Navkender Singh, research director at IDC, told ET.