Key Highlights:
5G World Connections: 1.5 wi-fi connections per particular person worldwide by finish of 2024
North America Leads the Means: 5G connections attain 289 million, overlaying 77% of the area’s inhabitants.
IoT Growth Surges: 438 million new IoT connections added in 2024, driving the worldwide whole to three.6 billion.
The worldwide wi-fi telecommunications trade achieved a historic milestone in 2024, with 5G connections reaching 2.25 billion worldwide.
This exceptional progress highlights 5G’s fast adoption, far outpacing earlier wi-fi generations. In accordance with 5G Americas and Omdia, 5G has expanded 4 occasions sooner than 4G LTE did in a comparable interval, when LTE had simply surpassed 500 million connections on the finish of 2014. The worldwide cellular ecosystem continues to develop, with 1.5 wi-fi connections per particular person worldwide by the tip of 2024—up from one connection per particular person in 2014.
The momentum is anticipated to proceed, with forecasts indicating 8.3 billion 5G connections by 2029, representing 59% of all world wi-fi applied sciences. In the meantime, the Web of Issues (IoT) noticed unprecedented enlargement, including 438 million new connections in 2024, bringing the worldwide whole to three.6 billion.
“Reaching 2.25 billion 5G connections globally is a powerful indicator of how rapidly this technology is transforming the world—but it’s also a reminder of North America’s leadership in shaping that future,” stated Viet Nguyen, President of 5G Americas. “With 5G now reaching 77 percent of our population, the region continues to set the pace for innovation, network deployment, and advanced use cases. This momentum speaks to the strength of our ecosystem—industry collaboration, investment, and forward-looking policy—all working together to make next-generation connectivity a reality.”
North America stays a world chief in 5G adoption, closing 2024 with 289 million 5G connections, representing a 67 p.c year-over-year enhance from 196 million connections on the finish of 2023. North America additionally has 77 p.c of the area coated by 5G. For comparability, 4G LTE adoption in North America had solely reached 47 p.c regional protection by the equal level in 2014.
Past adoption charges, North America can be the primary area on the planet to achieve parity between the variety of business 5G and 4G LTE networks, reflecting the maturity and tempo of next-generation community deployment. This management is fueled by sturdy trade funding, collaborative innovation, and a regulatory setting that continues to foster cutting-edge purposes in areas like industrial automation, telehealth, good infrastructure, and AI-powered connectivity.
“North America continues to showcase rapid 5G growth, outpacing previous generations and setting the benchmark for global adoption,” stated Kristin Paulin, Principal Analyst at Omdia.
Latin America additionally witnessed a big surge in 5G adoption, doubling its 5G connections in a single 12 months to 76 million by 2024 year-end—up from 38.5 million in 2023. Whereas 5G enlargement accelerates, 4G LTE stays the dominant know-how, with 593 million customers, accounting for 74 p.c of all wi-fi connections within the area.
The tempo of 5G community deployments additionally continues to exceed that of 4G LTE at an analogous stage of its rollout. As of March 17, 2025, there are 354 business 5G networks globally, with North America main in parity, being the one area the place the variety of 5G and LTE networks are equal. Europe follows, the place 5G deployments have reached 72 p.c of LTE networks.
The variety of 5G and 4G LTE community deployments as of March 17, 2025 is summarized under:
5G:
World: 354
North America: 18
Latin America and Caribbean: 53
4G LTE:
World: 706
North America: 18
Latin America and Caribbean: 134
