Viavi: Global 5G deployment growth of more than 20% by 2021

Viavi Solutions Inc. released a new study on June 28th showing that the pace of 5G technology deployment is accelerating, expanding to four other countries and 301 cities around the world since the beginning of the year.

According to Viavi's mid-year update of the report "5G Status," the total number of new (1662 cities in 65 countries) has grown by more than 20% so far in 2021, and 5G deployment applications are now in their fifth year.

According to the latest research, the top three countries with the largest number of 5G coverage cities are China (376), the United States (284) and the Philippines (95), surpassing South Korea, which currently ranks fourth with 85 cities.

Viavi says the Asia Pacific region leads with 641 cities, followed by Europe, the Middle East and Africa (623). The Americas lag behind with 398 cities. With the launch of commercial 5G services in four other countries (Cyprus, Peru, Russia and Uzbekistan), more than a third of the world's countries now have at least one real-time 5G network, the company said. However, the report found that the quality and speed of connections may vary by region, depending on the spectrum available. "While we're seeing a significant increase in the number of networks being rolled out, not all 5G technologies are equal," says Sameh Yamany, Viavi's CTO. "Networks operating in low, medium, and high bands perform very differently in terms of coverage and throughput, which increases the importance of network assurance and optimization to consistently deliver on 5G commitments."

The company notes that the data was compiled from open sources for informational purposes only as part of Viavi's practice of tracking trends for cutting-edge technology development, enabling communications service providers to maximize their 5G network deployments.