Indian 5G user base to grow to 770 million by 2028; average data use peaks to 40 GB: Nokia

Average 5G data consumption in India has peaked to 40 GB per user per month and its total subscriber base is expected to grow by 2.65 times to around 770 million in the next three years, telecom gear firm Nokia said on Thursday. The mix of data consumption across 4G, 5G etc has increased by compounded annual growth rate of 19.5 per cent over five years to 27.5 GB in 2024, Nokia's annual mobile broadband index (MBiT) report said.

According to the report, there was a remarkable three-fold year-on-year surge in 5G data traffic across India in 2024.

"Average 5G data consumption in India per user was recorded at 40 GB in December 2024. We expect the 5G user base to grow to around 770 million by 2028 from 290 million in 2024," Nokia India, Head of Technology and Solutions (Mobile Networks), Sandeep Saxena said during the report launch.


According to the report, the continued rise of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is driving increased data usage, with FWA users now consuming over 12 times more data than the average mobile data user, driven by new services in both residential and business settings.

"The 5G device ecosystem in India continues to evolve rapidly, with the number of active 5G devices doubling year-on-year to reach 271 million in 2024. This trend is expected to accelerate, with nearly 90 per cent of smartphones to be replaced in 2025 are expected to be 5G-capable," Saxena said.