Live cycle 5G mobile testing

Estimated number of 5G networks worldwide by Viavi in 2020

  • According to the study “The State of 5G Deployments” by Viavi Solutions, commercial 5G telecommunication networks were deployed in 378 cities in 34 countries in January 2020.

 
South Korea has the largest number of cities equipped with 5G networks with 85 cities, followed by China with 57 cities, the United States with 50 cities and the United Kingdom with 31 cities. In terms of regional coverage, EMEA (Europe Middle East & Africa) leads the way with 168 cities where 5G networks have been deployed, with Asia in second place with 156 cities. 54 cities are covered by 5G across the Americas.

As the battle for 5G supremacy intensifies, Viavi’s results indicate that a number of operators are covering the largest population centres, with as many as five Communication Service Providers (CSPs) deploying 5G in cities such as Los Angeles and New York.

“For 5G operators, there is a mixture of optimism and fear,” said Sameh Yamany, director of technology at Viavi. “Optimism is linked to a plethora of new business applications that could positively transform their business model, even if they don’t feel the business impact for some time. The immediate fear is that they will be left behind in the short-term commercial battle by rival operators if they are not fast enough in their deployment”.

Sameh continued: “Nevertheless, very quickly, the difference will be made by building the best 5G networks. Even as operators continue to develop their 5G networks, they will need to simultaneously move from network validation and verification to advanced network analysis and automated network troubleshooting. The race for the best 5G network has only just begun ».