Mobile technologies are projected to add USD5tril to the global economy by 2025, as nations benefit from transformative new technologies and growing connectivity. This is an increase from USD4.4tril seen in 2020—equivalent to 5.1% of global GDP—according to a recent report by GSMA.
The projections for growth reveal the remarkable potential of mobile to expand further through technologies such as 5G, as well as extending connections of 3G and 4G services to underserved regions.
A recent study by JP Morgan projects that 725 million 5G-enabled mobiles will ship by 2022, more than triple the number that shipped in 2020. GSMA itself estimates that there will be 1.8bil 5G connections by 2025, led by uptake in developed APAC countries, North America, and the Greater China region.
Generating the greatest possible value from the mobile economy as an engine of growth will require advanced data-driven solutions fit for this landscape.
Mobile is an engine of growth
The mobile economy is now a remarkable engine for growth, and one with far-reaching consequences for users across the world. A 2020 World Bank study found that access to mobile coverage had a demonstrable impact on welfare, lifting millions of people out of poverty in recent years.
The study revealed that the longer communities were exposed to a mobile broadband connection, the greater the outcomes, with welfare benefits particularly pronounced in rural areas. This demonstrated the importance of everyday mobile technology beyond even the more transformational visionary aspects of 5G and emerging technologies.
Underpinning this vital service delivery are communication service providers (CSPs) across the world, which are estimated to have served around5.2bil subscribers by the end of 2020. That number is expected to expand to 5.7bil by 2025, incorporating approximately 70% of the global population.
Telecommunications is largely a for-profit business around the world, with a total revenue value of just over USD1tril, employing over 12mil jobs directly and 13mil indirectly according to the GSMA report. Ensuring those operators remain competitive and profitable is a vital part of maintaining an efficient ecosystem that unlocks the value of this remarkable technology to users and businesses around the world.
Maintaining the balance of profitability and investment will be particularly pivotal in coming years. Operators will face remarkable challenges as the capital expenditure needs of 5G infrastructure combine with ongoing development expenses to reach a projected USD900bil capex 2021-2025.
Realizing the value of data to drive efficiency will be crucial. Neural Technologies’ advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence solutions are designed to support CSPs through revenue protection, telecommunications fraud management, data integration, and mobile money solutions, helping enterprises leverage the value of their data to reduce revenue leakage and improve business outcomes.
These sophisticated solutions also provide a path to improve operational efficiency in areas such as application risk, not only reducing exposure to bad actors but providing a smoother onboarding process that provides rapid accept/decline/defer decisions in a high-volume landscape.
Data is fundamentally about informed decision making. It provides a platform of understanding for operators to improve their end-to-end-ecosystem, from reduced revenue leakage right through to understanding customers better to deliver more personalized and value-adding services.
Leveraging these types of data-driven solutions is essential to realize the greatest possible value from the mobile economy, both for operators and users. Building operational frameworks based on effective data use means building a business model that is more resilient and flexible for this rapidly evolving landscape.
The rise for mobile data itself is a case in point for this evolution. Networks will have to deal with increasingly heavy data burdens in coming years, meeting the expanding demand for broadband data itself, and finding ways to carve value from data points that users generate for operators.
Ericsson projects that global mobile data traffic will more than triple between 2020 and 2026, rising to 237 exabytes per month. Behind that monsoon of data are billions of customers sending messages, watching videos, paying for products on ecommerce platforms, and a multitude of other uses.
Ensuring problem-free network provision whilst leveraging the value of that data will require automated, advanced solutions that embrace the benefits of machine learning and artificial intelligence as a fundamental enabler of operations.
GSMA projects the value of the mobile economy will expand by USD480bil by 2025. CSPs will need to make the right decisions to succeed in that competitive landscape. Data-driven solutions will inform that pathway, and ensure that enterprises are prepared to benefit from that period of remarkable growth.
Read more about our work with partner CSPs in our case studies or get in touch to find out more
