The mobile industry is predicted to be worth $11 trillion in the next five years, with six-in-ten people globally now connected via mobile services — and closing that usage gap could boost economies by an additional $3.5 trillion.
That's according to a report launched at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025, held in Barcelona this week.
According to the Mobile Economy Report 2025, mobile technologies and services generated 5.8% of global GDP last year, worth $6.5 trillion in economic value — and by 2030, that's predicted to rise to 8.4% of GDP and be worth nearly $11 trillion to global economies.
"Our industry connects nearly six billion people, and powers economies worldwide," said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA, the organization that runs MWC. "And, at MWC, over 50% of attendees come from outside the mobile ecosystem, a clear signal that industries recognize the vast opportunities our networks create."
The report found that 4.7 billion people, or 58% of the world's population, were using mobile internet by the end of 2024. That's expected to continue climbing to 5.5 billion users, or nearly two-thirds of the world, by 2030.
However, the report noted that adoption is starting to slow, with 110 million people using mobile internet for the first time last year, down from more than 200m in previous years, with Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa posting the lowest take-up rates of 29% and 50% respectively.
"Of the 3.4 billion people who remain unconnected to mobile internet, almost 90% live in an area already covered by mobile broadband but do not use mobile internet," the report noted.
"With mobile internet adoption outpacing network expansion, this usage gap has continued to shrink, standing at 38% by the end of 2024."
Of the existing mobile connections, two billion are on 5G, with 5G expected to completely overtake 4G by 2028 and make up 57% of total mobile connections by 2030.
Closing the mobile usage gap
To close that usage gap and tap into $11 trillion in economic value, Granryd said in his opening keynote that the industry must complete its transition to 5G Standalone — a network design that works without 4G, offering better resiliency, efficiency and speeds.
According to a separate GSMA report, 5G Standalone will drive 70% of enterprise revenue expansion in the next five years, worth as much as $127 billion in value.
Similarly, figures from the Mobile Economy 2025 report show 60 operators are already offering commercial 5G services on Standalone networks, led by Asia and Europe.
Beyond 5G Standalone, Granryd called for the industry to consider new revenue models to harness the potential of AI and Open Gateway APIs, which is a framework for giving developers access to operator networks to create new services and applications as well as tackling fraud.
As of last month, the report noted, the GSMA Open Gateway project had signed up 72 operator groups that make up nearly eight in ten mobile connections globally.
Granryd also called on operators to keep up with AI, with the report noting that early deployments of AI in mobile technologies have focused on internal solutions to improve network performance and customer services.
This has primarily focused on areas such as energy optimization and in call centers, but AI could power customer-facing solutions and open up new revenue opportunities, in particular in enterprises.
"This week will shine a light on those opportunities – from 5G to AI and many more – and their role in helping us unlock new markets, drive innovation, and shape the future of the global digital economy,” he added.
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