Juniper Research’s latest findings forecast that the increasing migrations from 4G to 5G subscriptions will drive a $120 billion 5G revenue increase from 2022 to 2023.

The “strategies implemented by operators in many geographies are driven by accelerating the migration of 4G subscribers to 5G networks,” Juniper Analyst and co-author of the research Sam Barker told SDxCentral.

The focused strategy operators are implementing: minimizing and removing any premium over existing 4G subscription options.

“Operators are keen to move as many subscribers to 5G as quickly as possible as 5G networks are far less capex intensive, meaning that operators are able to shut down the more costly areas of their networks in order to save operational costs,” Barker added.

The research chiefly estimates over 600 million new 5G subscriptions will be generated next year, “despite the anticipated economic downturn” predicted for 2023, increasing operator-billed 5G service revenue to surge over 60% from $195 billion [2022] to $315 billion in 2023.

As the growth of these networks expands, Juniper predicts that by 2027, 80% of global operator-billed revenue will be “attributable” to 5G connection, according to the release.

“The telecommunications industry demonstrated its robustness against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the report projects the growth of 5G will also be resilient against this economic downturn,” the firm stated.

Olivia Williams, another author of the research stated, “Despite the growth of the Internet of Things, revenue from consumer connections will continue to be the cornerstone of 5G operator revenue increase,” adding that personal devices will account for over 95% of global 5G connections in 2027.

Additionally, the report found standalone 5G’s network-slicing capabilities will set the stage for private 5G growth, mitigating hardware costs and increasing private 5G’s value proposition, according to Juniper.

The research complements Gartner’s expected enterprise growth in 5G fixed wireless revenue – predicted to grow at a 177% four-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 through 2025, reaching $3.6 billion in 2025.