- Viavi Solutions has released a new study confirming the acceleration of 5G network deployment around the world.
- According to the study, 5G is available in four additional countries and 301 cities worldwide since the beginning of this year.
1,662 cities in 65 countries are now covered by 5G. This represents an increase of more than 20 percent during 2021 to date, according to the fifth edition of Viavi’s “The State of 5G” report.
The three countries with the most cities with 5G coverage are China with 376 cities covered, the United States with 284, and the Philippines with 95, surpassing South Korea, which is now in fourth place with 85 cities. The Asia Pacific region (APAC) remains in the lead with 641 cities, followed closely by the EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa) region with 623 cities. The Americas region lags behind with 398 cities.
With the launch of commercial 5G services in four additional countries (Cyprus, Peru, Russia and Uzbekistan), more than a third of the world’s countries now have at least one active 5G network. However, according to Viavi, the quality and speed of connectivity can vary significantly from region to region depending on the available spectrum.
“While we are seeing a significant jump in the number of networks deployed, not all 5G technologies are equal,” said Sameh Yamany, chief technology officer, at Viavi. “Networks operating in the lower, middle and upper frequency bands have very different performance in terms of range and throughput, which increases the importance of network assurance and optimization to consistently deliver on the promise of 5G.”
