The Mobile Economy Europe 2025 (GSMA)

Summary

• Mobile technologies and services generate around 5% of GDP across Europe, almost €1.1 trillion of economic value added.p.4
• 5G is expected to add around €164 billion of economic value by 2030.p.4
• By the end of 2024, 5G accounted for 30% of mobile connections in Europe, over 200 million connections.p.5
• European mobile operators invested over €160 billion in mobile capex over the past five years.p.17
• Mobile's economic contribution in Europe will reach €1.2 trillion by 2030.p.19

Key insights

1. Average data traffic per mobile connection in Europe grew from 3.8 GB in 2019 to 15.3 GB in 2024.p.15
2. Europe is expected to gain another 200 million licensed cellular IoT connections, reaching almost 550 million by 2030.p.16
3. Mobile capex to revenue was 16% at the end of 2023, likely the peak of the 5G investment cycle.p.17
4. The mobile sector in Europe supported around 3.3 million jobs in 2023.p.19
5. The mobile ecosystem in Europe raised €120 billion in taxes in 2023.p.20
6. Manufacturing is expected to account for 34% of 5G benefits between 2023 and 2030.p.21
7. Only around 15% of operators in Europe with live 5G networks had launched 5G SA, compared with over 30% in Asia Pacific and North America.p.26
8. Europe committed operators represent more than 20% of GSMA Open Gateway commitments despite around only 10% of mobile connections.p.5