In February 2020, as Cullen International launched its first Global Trends benchmark on 5G very little was known outside China about Covid-19 and about the global health emergency the newly discovered virus was about to generate.

By March 2020, when Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization, 5G mobile services were commercially available in a handful of countries, with availability usually limited to urban areas.

Economic uncertainties brought by lockdowns raised concerns over the reduced purchasing power of consumers and businesses and the potential impact on the demand for 5G services and handsets.

Concerns were also raised on the supply side, over possible slowdowns in 5G network buildouts. According to new global research by Cullen International, Covid-19 had different impacts around the world.

While 5G spectrum assignments were postponed in some countries, they were carried out according to schedule in others. During the pandemic China and the US amongst other countries, announced financial support packages to accelerate 5G network rollouts. Significant developments were observed in the 5G industry, with network deployments and commercial launches observed in several countries across all continents.

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