The vast majority of wireless customers have yet to experience 5G but, according to a report by Ericsson (PDF), that is about to change in a big way.

In the Ericsson Mobility Report, the company is predicting that 2.6 billion individuals will have 5G plans by 2025.

“With the continued momentum for 5G, we predict 13 million 5G subscriptions by the end of this year. A big share of these subscriptions is expected to be in China. All three of the main service providers launched commercial 5G services in Q4 2019. Sign-up of customers started even before launch, with more than 10 million 5G users registered in October 2019.

“In 2025 we forecast 2.6 billion 5G subscriptions globally, accounting for 29 percent of all mobile subscriptions at that time.

“LTE will remain the dominant mobile access technology by subscription during the forecast period. It is projected to peak in 2022 at 5.4 billion subscriptions and decline to around 4.8 billion subscriptions by the end of 2025 as LTE subscriptions migrate to 5G.”

Experts, such as Jim Cramer, have been saying that 5G is greatly misunderstood and offers exponentially more than a simple generational improvement. The speeds offered by 5G will create a world of new opportunities for a wide range of industries. Given the promise of the new technology, it’s a good sign that so many customers are expected to have access so quickly.