Telecom equipment provider Ericsson said Tuesday that global 5G subscribers will increase to 580 million by the end of this year, up 360 million from 220 million at the end of last year, increasing 163.6 percent year-on-year.

Ericsson also expects that five years from now, in 2026, global 5G users will exceed 3.5 billion, accounting for a significant increase in the proportion of global mobile communications users.

Specific to the region, Ericsson said Northeast Asia is currently the highest global 5G penetration rate, followed by North America. Still, Ericsson expects that by 2026, the proportion of 5G users in mobile communications users in North America will reach 84%, which will become the highest global 5G penetration rate.

Ericsson also said that there were 6 billion smartphone users worldwide by the end of last year, which they expect to increase to 7.7 billion by 2026.