The acceleration of the development of 5G Standalone (5G SA) creates a significant opportunity for Greece to position itself at the forefront of new technologies and digital innovation.
The above was emphasized by George Pappas, Ericsson Country Manager for Greece, Cyprus, Malta and now for Albania and Bulgaria, referring to developments in mobile telephony, at a press briefing.
2 billion subscriptions in 5 years
Pappas referred to an Ericsson study entitled, Next Wave of Mobile Innovation, according to which 5G has presented the fastest technological development in the history of telecommunications, recording over 2 billion subscriptions in 5 years.
This mass adoption has occurred mainly in the US, China, India, South Korea and Japan, with Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services radically changing the competition in fixed broadband. Among others in the US, FWA recorded almost all of the net new connections in the last two years.
Only 26% of providers have used it
However, as it is emphasized, the full potential of 5G has not yet been exploited. Only 26% of providers worldwide (163 out of a total of 633) have invested in 5G SA, a technology that enables large-scale automation, ultra-low latency, network slicing and reliable operation for critical applications.
Concentration in three markets
In fact, approximately 90% of 5G SA connections are concentrated in three markets: China, India and the US, leaving entire regions out of the next digital era, including, unfortunately, Europe as today only 2% of European consumers have a 5G SA service.
From the advanced markets in 5G SA, it is found that targeted investments in FWA and Mobile Broadband (MBB) offer high customer satisfaction and steady revenue growth. Ericsson estimates that FWA is expected to increase from 11% of fixed broadband connections in 2024 to 18% by 2030.
What applies to Greece
In Greece, we are not at zero, but we need to accelerate.
Cosmote Telekom offers 5G SA population coverage of 75%, with the company preparing to announce other services that leverage the capabilities of this technology in addition to the fixed wireless access it already provides in the near future.
At the same time, Nova and Vodafone have completed the installation of the relevant infrastructure. The commercial operation of their 5G SA networks is expected in the coming months.
The above means that Greece will be one of the few countries in the European Union within the first half of 2026 where all mobile operators will have put 5G SA networks into operation.
This is of course not enough in itself. The market, that is, the businesses that are potential users of this technology, also needs to mature in order to adopt applications and services, such as private networks, which are served by 5G SA.
It is noted that Ericsson currently holds a leading position in Greece in terms of sales of telecommunications equipment with an annual turnover of around 65 million euros.
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