Thursday 25 June, 2026
Unlocking Europe’s potential
Europe is at a crucial moment. As the region looks to boost competitiveness and strengthen resilience in an uncertain global environment, the quality of its digital infrastructure will be a key determinant of success. While mobile networks already underpin much of Europe’s economic and social activity, the region has yet to unlock mobile’s full potential to spur innovation, economic growth and welfare. Doing so will ultimately depend on creating the right
conditions for sustained investment and faster innovation, ensuring Europe not only competes but prospers in the years ahead.
Operators in the European Union (EU) support nearly 600 million mobile connections, including 370 million unique mobile internet users – equivalent to more than 80% of the region’s population. Users rely on mobile networks for a growing range of services, with operators spending almost €20 billion in mobile capex in 2025 alone to meet this demand. European operators also continue to invest significantly in decarbonising their networks, underpinning the region’s global leadership in the GSMA Intelligence Green Network Index.
The efforts of operators and their partners translate into a significant economic impact. In 2025, mobile technologies contributed €1.1 trillion of economic value in the EU. The greatest benefits came from the productivity effects of mobile (€820 billion), followed by the direct contribution of the mobile ecosystem (€200 billion). Mobile operators and the wider mobile ecosystem provided direct employment to 1.3 million people, and made a direct fiscal contribution of €110 billion through taxes.[1]
[1] Unless otherwise stated, figures for Europe in this report refer to EU27 countries only
