India's 5G subscriber base to cross 1 billion by 2031: report

5G data traffic jumps by 70 per cent in 2025.

New Delhi: India’s monthly 5G data traffic grew by 70 per cent year-on-year to 12.9 exabytes (EB) in 2025, contributing nearly 47 per cent to overall mobile broadband traffic during the year, as per the annual Mobile Broadband Index report released by Nokia on Tuesday.

The average monthly mobile data consumption per user rose to over 31 gigabytes (GB) in 2025, reflecting an 18 per cent compound annual growth rate over the past five years.

This surge has been driven by the rapid expansion of enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and increasing demand for data-heavy applications such as AI-based services, 4K video streaming, and cloud gaming, Nokia said in the 13th edition of its annual Mobile Broadband Index (MBiT) report.

Overall data traffic crossed 27 EB per month in 2025, reflecting sustained growth driven by expanding 5G coverage and the growing availability of affordable 5G smartphones, it said. An exabyte (EB) refers to one billion gigabytes (GB).

According to the report, India’s fifth generation (5G) subscriber base is expected to cross 1 billion-mark by 2031. The 5G service was launched in India in October 2022. In just over three years of roll out, India has emerged as the world’s second largest 5G user, with the number of subscribers crossing 40 crore.

“India’s mobile broadband landscape is entering a new phase of evolution, driven by rapid 5G adoption and the growing influence of AI-led applications,” said Vibha Mehra, Country Manager – Designate for India, Nokia.

The report notes that metro circles continue to lead 5G adoption, with 5G now accounting for 58 per cent of total mobile data traffic in these markets, up significantly from the previous year. Growth has also accelerated across Category A, B and C circles, indicating deeper nationwide penetration of 5G connectivity.

India’s device ecosystem is also evolving rapidly. The number of active 4G devices reached 892 million in 2025, of which over 383 million are already 5G capable, while over 90 per cent of smartphones shipped during the year supported 5G, strengthening readiness for multi-band deployments in 5G.

The report also highlights the emerging impact of the AI supercycle, which is expected to significantly reshape network traffic patterns.

As AI-enabled applications, immersive experiences and autonomous systems gain scale, networks will need to evolve toward AI-native, intent-based architectures capable of handling higher uplink demand, lower latency requirements and more distributed computing workloads, it said.