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GSMA has compiled “The Mobile Economy 2017” report which includes mobile industry overview, mobile technology driving innovation and growth, mobile addressing social challenges and rethinking regulations and policies for the digital age.
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with almost 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organizations in adjacent industry sectors. Here is the overview of GSMA’s Mobile Economy Report 2017:
Subscribers growth pivoting to Asia
- By the end of 2016, two-thirds of the world’s population had a mobile subscription – a total of 4.8 billion unique subscribers.
- There is a clear geographic shift underway, with Asia Pacific set to account for two-thirds of the 860 million new subscribers expected globally by the end of the decade.
- By 2020, almost three-quarters of the world’s population – or 5.7 billion people – will subscribe to mobile services.
Top 10 countries by projected new subscribers including Pakistan
Ten countries will account for 72% of growth in new mobile subscribers worldwide. India, already the world’s second largest mobile market will be the primary driver of this growth, with 310 million new unique subscribers expected in the period to 2020, helped by improving affordability, falling device prices and better network coverage. This is followed by China and fast-growth Asian markets including Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has recently reported that annual cellular subscribers by March 2017 are more than 139 million. According to the GSMA report, Pakistan will have 17 million new unique subscribers by 2020.
4G uptake driving surge in mobile broadband adoption
The generational shift to mobile broadband networks and smartphones continues to gain momentum.
- Mobile broadband connections (3G and 4G technologies) accounted for 55% of total connections in 2016 – a figure that will be close to three-quarters of the connections base by 2020.
- 5G networks are forecast to cover around a third of the global population by 2025, with adoption reaching 1.1 billion connections.
Mobile revenue growth & subscribers base
- Total mobile revenues reached $1.05 trillion in 2016, up 2.2% on 2015, marking the second consecutive year of rising revenue growth.
- With a global subscriber base that is soon to reach 5 billion, the mobile ecosystem has created a global digital platform that is increasingly connecting everyone and everything.
Mobile contributing to jobs and economic growth
- In 2016, mobile technologies and services generated 4.4% of GDP globally, equivalent to around $3.3 trillion of economic value. This is forecast to increase to more than $4.2 trillion (4.9% of GDP) by 2020.
- The mobile ecosystem supported approximately 28 million jobs in 2016.
- The mobile sector also makes a substantial contribution to the funding of the public sector, with approximately $450 billion raised in 2016 in the form of general taxation.
- Almost $19 billion was raised in government revenue through spectrum auctions in 2016.
You can read the whole report here [PDF].
