After throwing some runes,  the outfit predicts that internet of things sales will grow to 3.5 billion units by 2023, five times the 700 million devices currently in use. It also marks a doubling of the company's forecast from November.

Patrik Cerwall, who runs industry marketing at Ericsson, said the growth in next-generation, 5G wireless networks, will fuel the growth. Nearly 1 billion devices will feature a 5G connection, he said.

"We have been reporting on mobile industry development for some years", Cerwall said in a statement. "However, this report is probably one of the more exciting ones because we are at the start of a big change in the industry."

The Ericsson report forecasts the launch of the first commercial 5G networks later this year. The launches will occur in big markets, including North America, South Korea, Japan and China. By 2023, the company estimates 20 percent of all mobile data traffic globally to be carried by 5G networks.