5G adoption and mobile ARPUs: is there a connection?

The rollout and adoption of 5G has been faster than that of previous network generations. Globally, 5G mobile connections will scale from 1 billion in 2022 to 1.5 billion in 2023. That is significant progress, but is 5G adoption helping drive ARPU growth? In this report, we attempt to answer the question.

We selected three criteria that point to consumer markets where 5G has been solidly deployed and adopted. Eight countries matched the criteria: Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US. Six countries have seen an inversion of the ARPU trend following the launch of 5G. China and the most developed Asia Pacific markets (Japan, Australia and South Korea) lead, with a significant inversion of the ARPU trend, while Europe (e.g. Germany and the UK) lags behind. While a number of factors influence ARPU trends, based on our analysis and what some of the pioneer 5G operators are communicating in their quarterly earnings, 5G is one of the main factors behind the ARPU growth seen in leading 5G markets.