5G In 2021: More Countries Adopted 5G, But Global Speeds Took A Hit

As more countries start rolling out 5G services, the company behind world's favourite internet speed test, Ookla has churned out numbers for the year 2021.

India, as of now, does not offer 5G services to everyone. Multiple 5G capability tests have been undertaken by major carriers like Airtel and Vi in India, but commercial availability is still in the works.

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Most estimates suggest that the first live 5G networks in India could be available to users by the end of 2022, even as India has announced 13 cities for early 5G trials in 2022. For now, here are a few defining 5G trends from 2021...

Slower 5G in 2021

In the meantime, 5G speeds have slowed down across the globe. According to the report, this is common when new technologies see more adoption. The median global download speed of 5G fell from 206.22 Mbps to 166.13 Mbps across the world. In terms of the upload speed, there was average dip of Mbps (from 29.52 Mbps to 21.08 Mbps). The faster figures are from Q3 2020 while the slow speeds represent the third quarter of 2021.

"While the dip in speeds looks like a letdown, it¡¯s more of a compromise to enable broader access," the report adds.

Also read: Vodafone Idea Clocks Over 1.5 Gbps Speeds In 5G Trials In Pune & Gandhinagar

Fastest 5G in the world

In terms of the fastest average 5G download speeds, South Korea topped the charts with speeds of up to 492.48 Mbps, followed by Norway at 426.75 Mbps. Other countries in the top 10 list include United Arab Emirates (409.96 Mbps), Saudi Arabia (366.46 Mbps), Qatar (359.64 Mbps), Kuwait (340.62 Mbps), Sweden (305.72 Mbps), China (299.04 Mbps), Taiwan (296.63 Mbps), and New Zealand (296.15 Mbps).

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More countries are adopting 5G

5G services were rolled out in 13 new countries over the course of 2021. Last year, 99 countries offered 5G services. In 2021, the number stands at 112.

Even then, availability to 5G services is rather restricted even now. In terms of 5G availability, United States took the top spot - with 49.2 per cent of all users of 5G devices using the services during Q3 2021.

DPA

In Netherlands, the percentage is 45.1 per cent, followed by South Korea at 43.8 per cent. Other countries on the lsit are Kuwait (35.5 per cent), Qatar (34.8 per cent), Hong Kong (33.1 per cent), Switzerland (31.7 per cent), Australia (24.5 per cent), China (20.1 per cent), United Kingdom (11.7 per cent). Brazil took the last spot with 5G being used by 0.8 per cent users.

Also read: Internet's Fooling Us Into Thinking We're Smarter Than We Are, Finds Study

Many countries still dependent on 2G and 3G

Even then, many countries still rely on slower 2G and 3G services. The samples using 2G and 3G services had the highest concentration in Central African Republic (89.9 per cent), followed by Palestine (84.7 per cent), Yemen (72.4 per cent), Turkmenistan (71.8 per cent), Micronesia (56.3 per cent), Madagascar (55 per cent), Belarus (53.2 per cent) and so on.

AFP

As countries continue to invest in infrastructure that supports 5G services, coverage should commence in countries including India over the next year.

Are you excited to have faster data capability on your smartphones with 5G? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

You can read the entire report by Ookla here.