GSMA: 6G to reach 2.4B connections by 2035, but operator economics set the pace

GSMA Intelligence forecasts about 2.4 billion 6G connections by 2035, starting with 50 million by the end of 2030 and passing 1 billion in 2033. Analysts say adoption speed will depend on operators' return on investment as they keep monetizing 5G and 5G-Advanced.

• GSMA forecast: 50M 6G connections by end-2030, 2.4B by 2035
• By end-2035, 5G will hold about 60% of connections, 6G 23% and 4G 17%
• Monthly mobile traffic to grow from 144 EB in 2025 to 604 EB in 2035
• AI cameras, wearables and XR will pressure uplink capacity, latency and reliability