Report: 5G plays a huge role in economic growth in emerging markets

The vendor commissioned research firm Analysys Mason to examine the impact of 5G across a wide range of sectors including commercial, industrial, logistics, rural and public services.

It also looks at how 5G multi-spectrum deployments can improve the delivery of mobile broadband and fixed wireless access services in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The countries looked at in the study included Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

The study found that 5G deployment in commercial and industrial sectors could boost GDP growth by 0.3% to 0.5% in the years to 2035, noting that connected infrastructure, including smart industries and rural clusters, accounted for "85% to 90%" of the total economic benefits in each market.

Ericsson sees mid-band 5G coverage as a key enabler of economic infrastructure gains, with its high capacity and bandwidth making it suitable for manufacturing, industrial, automation and agricultural services.

Agriculture was identified as a thriving sector in all 15 countries, accounting for 10% of GDP “in some markets”, and enhanced rural 5G connectivity could increase GDP by a further 1.8%.

Ericsson said the research highlighted that enhanced 5G mobile broadband could generate between $1 billion and $10 billion in consumer surplus per country, as well as social and environmental benefits.

Andrew Lloyd, head of government and policy advocacy at Ericsson, said government and regulator support for 5G connectivity offered many potential benefits.