On 7 December, the GSMA published The Mobile Economy: Europe 2015 report, analysing the mobile industry’s annual contribution to the European economy.
The study finds that the mobile industry’s contribution to Europe’s economy is set to increase over the next five years on the back of growing mobile operator investment in 4G networks and services. It predicts the industry’s contribution to European GDP will rise from EUR500 billion in 2014 to EUR600 billion by 2020, as markets across the region benefit from the improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by the adoption of new mobile technologies, including machine-to-machine (M2M) communications. Ongoing mobile operator investments in 4G network quality and coverage across Europe will see 4G account for 60 per cent of the continent’s mobile connections1 by 2020, according to the report, up from 20 per cent today.
The mobile industry is leading European digital innovation, notably in mobile commerce, smart manufacturing, smart homes, smart health and other areas. Mobile networks are also enabling the Internet of Things (IoT): the number of cellular machine-to-machine connections in Europe are set to grow from 68 million this year to 182 million by 2020, a 22 per cent compound annual growth rate. There is also growing interest in the use of low-power, wide-area (LPWA) solutions, which will play an important role in connecting a range of IoT devices.
However, a key challenge for Europe’s mobile industry is to achieve economies of scale in a continent that has many different national regulatory and legal environments. The EU’s proposal to create a European Digital Single Market aims to reduce such barriers to innovation and use digital services and networks to drive future economic growth.
“Transforming Europe into a world-leading digital economy will require an extensive regulatory overhaul that encourages investment in future-proof infrastructure and addresses the current fragmented approach in areas such as spectrum,” said Alex Sinclair, Acting Director General and Chief Technology Officer at the GSMA. “The creation of a Digital Single Market provides a unique opportunity to build a new regulatory framework that supports a new era of digital players, services and business models, underpinned by advanced mobile broadband connectivity.”
To access the full report and related infographics please visit the website.