5G has accounted for approximately 30 percent of mobile connections in Europe, equivalent to 200 million connections, surpassing the global average of 24 percent. According to the GSMA's Mobile Economy Europe 2025 report, 5G is set to overtake 4G as the dominant mobile technology in Europe by 2026. However, despite this progress, the continent lags behind regions such as North America, East Asia, and the Gulf states in terms of adoption rates.
Also Read: GSMA Says 750 Million Gained 5G Access Globally in 2023, Largely Driven by India
5G Growth and Economic Impact
"5G will become the dominant mobile technology on the continent by 2026 and already accounts for the majority of connections in Germany and Switzerland, while adoption rates in Denmark, Finland, Norway and the UK have exceeded 40 percent," the GSMA report stated. It further noted, "By 2030, it will provide an additional EUR 164 billion boost to the overall economy, with 80 percent of the continent's connections forecast to be 5G, compared to 4G's 18 percent, by the end of this decade."
The growing adoption of 5G has driven a significant increase in mobile data traffic, which has more than quadrupled over the past five years—from an average of 3.8 GB per line per month in 2019 to 15.3 GB in 2024. The GSMA projects this figure will reach nearly 50 GB per connection by 2030.
5G SA to Unlock monetisation
The report highlighted the potential of advanced 5G technologies stating, "One promising area is in advanced 5G technologies such as 5G Standalone (SA) and 5G-Advanced, which are gaining traction and will help to unlock new use cases and monetisation opportunities."
In Europe, operators are beginning to deploy 5G SA, which does not rely on LTE (Long Term Evolution) to operate, providing opportunities for new applications like network slicing," the report noted. As of September 2024, 18 European operators had launched 5G SA services, including recent launches from EE in the UK and Free in France.
Also Read: Telcos Have Reached a Saturation Point with Limited Monetisation Prospects?
5G Advanced to Improve Reliability of AI
In addition, 5G-Advanced is set to deliver new solutions for enterprises, enabling uplink and multicast services at better latency, increasing accuracy for extended reality applications and improving the reliability of AI.
Regulatory Challenges
However, GSMA highlighted that unless key regulatory challenges that restrict investment capacity in the European sector are resolved, the increased adoption of these technologies in Europe will progress more slowly.
The GSMA's Chief Regulatory Officer, John Giusti, said: "Europe is at a crossroads in its development of the digital infrastructure that its businesses and citizens will need to succeed. It is concerning to see it falling further and further behind other large markets around the world.
"The mobile industry brings more than EUR 1 trillion to Europe's economy as well as millions of jobs, and its role as a key enabler of commerce, logistics and innovation needs to be prioritised and strengthened.
"Urgent action is needed from the European Commission and other authorities within the European Union to deliver the policy reforms that Europe's digital economy needs to support strong, sustained network innovation and to re-establish a leadership position in the global technology marketplace by 2030."
Also Read: Airtel’s Gopal Vittal Re-Elected as Deputy Chair of GSMA for Another Term
Action Points Recommended by Report
The report also recommended action points to support policymakers at the European Commission in building a competitive, secure and sustainable ecosystem. These include:
- Completing the Digital Single Market: Completing the Digital Single Market to allow the mobile industry to develop and deploy services on a cross-border or pan-EU basis
- Ensuring Fairness in the Internet Value Chain: Implementing measures to ensure fairness in the internet value chain
- Reviewing the EU Merger Regulation: Adopting a long-term perspective on investment and innovation.
- Establishing Predictable Spectrum Policies: Promoting a pro-investment approach to EU spectrum policy
- Supporting Sustainability Efforts: Supporting the sustainability efforts of mobile operators
European Operators and AI
"European operators are at the forefront of AI and generative AI (genAI) development, with over a third (36 percent) having widely deployed genAI across multiple business areas," the report said highlighting, "recent applications covering network optimisation, security enhancement and customer service improvements from European operators including Deutsche Telekom, EE, Orange and Vodafone."
The report highlighted that European operators are forming regional and global partnerships to strengthen their genAI capabilities and pave the way for new business models and revenue streams.
For example, Vodafone recently partnered with Microsoft in a ten-year strategic agreement to enhance customer service and drive digital transformation through AI. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom is collaborating with multinational partners to develop telecom-specific large language models.
The GSMA's Responsible AI Maturity Roadmap provides a framework for operators to ensure ethical and sustainable AI use.
Also Read: GSMA Launches Responsible AI Roadmap for Telecom Operators
Fixed Wireless Access and IoT Growth
5G fixed wireless access (FWA) has become a key offering for both consumers and enterprises, complementing enhanced mobile broadband services. Operators in 24 European countries have launched 5G FWA services.
By 2030, Europe is expected to host 545 million licensed cellular IoT connections, with Germany accounting for 25 percent and France, Italy, Sweden, and the UK each contributing around 10 percent.
Contribution to European Economy
The mobile industry contributed EUR 1.1 trillion to the European economy in 2023, accounting for 5 percent of Europe's GDP. The mobile ecosystem supports more than 3 million jobs across Europe, including 2 million directly employed and approximately 1.4 million in related sectors, the GSMA report said.
