The sharp increase is fuelled by 4G migration in central and eastern Europe and increasing improvements in 5G coverage and capacity.
Analysis compiled by the European Mobile Economy Report indicates that 5G subscribers, in particular, are interested in adding high-bandwidth services and content to their mobile contracts as demand for high-quality gaming, extended reality and video content grows.
In turn, these demands will require continued investment in Europe’s mobile networks by operators who are already expected to spend more than €198 billion on upgrading their networks by 2030.
In further analysis, the report, which evaluates the value of the mobile ecosystem to the Europe economy in 2022, with mobile technologies and services generating 4.3% of GDP across Europe.
The entire ecosystem accounted for 2.2 million jobs, directly or indirectly in 2022.
Mobile-based productivity contributed €670 billion to the European economy while operators’ own contribution generated €110 billion.
By 2030, it is expected that the sector’s economic contribution will reach €1 trillion, driven by the continued expansion of the ecosystem.
5G
The report revealed that 5G will become Europe’s dominant mobile technology within the next three years, driven by uptake in Germany and the UK.
By 2030, 5G is expected to reach 87% of all users.
“Europe has a strong history of leadership in mobile and digital technologies, but strong, sustained investment in networks is now needed to regain that leadership in the face of global competition,” said Daniel Pataki, VP for policy and head of Europe for the GSMA.
“We’re encouraged to see European policymakers now facing up to that reality and examining the potential for meaningful policy change on areas such as consolidation, spectrum harmonisation and the creation of fairer investment models for infrastructure, as we go into 2024.
“Our report shows that action is needed now to give European citizens and businesses the digital infrastructure they need for the future.”
