Worldwide 5G Network Infrastructure Revenue To reach $4.2 bn In 2020: Gartner

In 2020, the worldwide 5G wireless network infrastructure revenue will reach $4.2 billion, an 89 percent increase from 2019 revenue of $2.2 billion, according to Gartner Inc.

Additionally, Gartner forecasts that investments in 5G New Radio network infrastructure will account for 6 percent of the total wireless infrastructure revenue of communications service providers (CSPs) in 2019, and that this figure will reach 12 percent in 2020.

"5G wireless network infrastructure revenue will nearly double between 2019 and 2020," said Sylvain Fabre, Senior Research Director at Gartner. "For 5G deployments in 2019, CSPs are using non-stand-alone technology. This enables them to introduce 5G services that run more quickly, as 5G New Radio (NR) equipment can be rolled out alongside existing 4G core network infrastructure."

In 2020, CSPs will roll out stand-alone 5G technology, which will require 5G NR equipment and a 5G core network. This will lower costs for CSPs and improve performance for users.

5G services will launch in many major cities in 2019 and 2020. Services have already begun in the U.S., South Korea and some European countries, including Switzerland, Finland and the U.K.

CSPs in Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Spain, Sweden, and the UAE have announced plans to accelerate 5G network building through 2020.

As a result, Gartner estimates that 7 percent of CSPs worldwide have already deployed 5G infrastructure in their networks.