What Ericsson’s Mobility Report Tells Data Centre Operators

Three billion subscriptions to 5G is a milestone.

But for data centre operators, the more interesting story in Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report is what those billions of connections are beginning to do.

As AI expands beyond hyperscale facilities and into devices, vehicles and connected environments, mobile networks are carrying increasing volumes of traffic while becoming more specialised in how that traffic is managed.

The result is a growing convergence between telco infrastructure and the data centres that power digital services.

According to the June 2026 edition of Ericsson’s Mobility Report, global 5G subscriptions surpassed 3.1 billion during the first quarter of the year, after 162 million new subscriptions were added. The company expects that total to reach 6.4 billion by 2031.

Yet the report suggests that the next phase of growth will be defined less by subscriber numbers and more by changing traffic patterns, network architecture and the demands created by AI workloads.

AI drives new infrastructure requirements

One of the report’s most significant findings for the wider digital infrastructure sector is the emergence of new traffic patterns linked to AI adoption.

Ericsson found that uplink traffic is now growing faster than downlink traffic for most service providers.

Among 55 operators analysed, 43 recorded faster uplink growth, while 17 experienced uplink growth rates more than 1.5 times higher than downlink growth.

The trend reflects increased use of collaboration platforms, cloud storage services and user-generated content. Looking ahead, Ericsson believes AI applications could accelerate that shift further.

“With the upcoming transition to physical AI, traffic patterns will fundamentally shift as we move from centralised models in data centres to distributed, autonomous AI agents embedded across our device vehicles and cities, commonly connected by 5G,” says Erik Ekudden, CTO at Ericsson.

“Mobile networks are no longer only about providing best-effort connectivity, they are becoming critical, intelligent infrastructure that meets diverse application needs.

“Reflecting part of this shift is the continued rise in new commercial service offerings based on 5G standalone network slicing and the number of communications service providers deploying 5G SA.”

That transition points towards increasingly distributed architectures where processing occurs across a combination of central facilities, edge locations and connected devices.

Network slicing moves into commercial deployment

The report highlights growing momentum behind 5G Standalone network slicing, a technology that enables operators to create dedicated network resources for specific applications or customers.

Ericsson recorded 84 commercial differentiated connectivity offerings based on 5G SA network slicing worldwide, up from 65 reported in November 2025.

The increase suggests operators are moving beyond pilot programmes and towards broader commercial deployment of differentiated services.

For enterprises adopting AI, automation and real-time applications, network slicing offers the potential for more predictable connectivity between users, devices and the data centres supporting those services.

Data traffic continues its rapid rise

The report underlines the scale of growth facing infrastructure providers.

By the end of 2025, 5G networks carried 48% of global mobile data traffic. Ericsson forecasts that share will rise to 85% by 2031.

Overall mobile and fixed wireless access network traffic increased by 22% year on year during the first quarter of 2026, exceeding Ericsson’s expectations. Growth was driven largely by continued expansion in India and North America.

The share of FWA providers delivering services over 5G has reached 71%, compared with 57% a year earlier.

Meanwhile, 57% of FWA providers now offer speed-based tariff plans, up from 51% in 2025, with new launches recorded across markets including Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam.

As data consumption rises and AI-driven applications generate new forms of traffic, both telco operators and data centre providers face the challenge of scaling infrastructure to support demand.

Ericsson’s latest findings indicate that the immediate focus remains on extracting greater value from existing 5G investments while preparing networks and supporting infrastructure for the next generation of AI-enabled services.