The Mobile Economy 2024 (GSMA)

Summary

• By the end of 2023, 5.6 billion people (69% of the global population) subscribed to a mobile service, an increase of 1.6 billion since 2015.p.4
• 3 billion people live in areas covered by mobile broadband but do not use mobile internet.p.4
• In 2023, mobile technologies and services generated 5.4% of global GDP, amounting to $5.7 trillion of economic value added.p.4
• The mobile industry supported around 35 million jobs.p.4
• As of January 2024, 47 operators offered commercial 5G services on SA networks.p.5
• GSMA Intelligence predicts around 1 billion eSIM smartphone connections by the end of 2025, growing to 6.9 billion by 2030.p.6

Key insights

1. Mobile internet users increased by 2.1 billion since 2015.p.4
2. More than half of operators expect to deploy 5G-Advanced within a year after standards are released.p.5
3. Operators have struggled to adopt a standardised approach to network APIs at scale.p.5
4. Satellites and NTNs are seeing performance improvements and lower deployment costs, setting up telco-satellite partnerships.p.5
5. North America will have the fastest rate of eSIM adoption.p.6
6. Early genAI work in operators focuses on customer service, sales and marketing.p.6
7. Governments should assign 5G spectrum to support digital connectivity goals rather than maximise state revenues.p.7