Building the metaverse: three waves of developments, five monetisation routes for operators

This report is available to those subscribed to the IoT & Enterprise or Digital Consumer modules.
The metaverse is still in its infancy, but the pace of developments and announcements has accelerated in the last 12 months. Despite scepticism from some companies or investors on the metaverse in general and specifically on how the business case will play out (investments versus returns), this space will continue to capture interest and activity in 2023 and beyond. In this report, we review the state of the metaverse and its future outlook across various areas, including major developments and trends, the companies driving momentum and early use cases in the consumer and enterprise markets.
Building on our consumer survey, we analyse consumer awareness of the metaverse across major developed countries and their views on the online activities that will benefit the most from the metaverse.
Finally, we delve into operator strategies and expectations for the metaverse. Our survey of 100 operators worldwide reveals important insights into what operators think about the metaverse opportunity and where they are with their metaverse strategies. To help operators navigate the nascent metaverse opportunity we identify and compare five main monetisation routes while shining light on what major operators such as SK Telecom, Telefónica and Verizon are doing in the metaverse space.
Related research
Telefónica: Pushing consumer genAI through the Aura digital assistant
Operator strategies continue to evolve in the digital era as the telecoms industry seeks to capture new growth opportunities in the consumer and enterprise markets. Assessing innovation and achievements is more important than ever before. GSMA Intelligence's operator case studies provide a concise and consistent way to shine a light on and analyse operators' strategies and business models, as well as how they are launching new services. This edition looks at how Telefónica is driving consumer generative AI through its Aura digital assistant.
e&: Embracing consumer genAI with customer experience as the overarching goal
Operator strategies continue to evolve in the digital era as the telecoms industry seeks to capture new growth opportunities in the consumer and enterprise markets. Assessing innovation and achievements is more important than ever before. GSMA Intelligence's operator case studies provide a concise and consistent way to shine a light on and analyse operators' strategies and business models, as well as how they are launching new services. This edition explores e&'s use of generative AI in consumer apps, retail stores and customer service, with customer experience as its overarching goal.
Deutsche Telekom: Driving service innovation and user experience for consumers with genAI
Operator strategies continue to evolve in the digital era as the telecoms industry seeks to capture new growth opportunities in the consumer and enterprise markets. Assessing innovation and achievements is more important than ever before. GSMA Intelligence's operator case studies provide a concise and consistent way to shine a light on and analyse operators' strategies and business models, as well as how they are launching new services. This edition highlights how Deutsche Telekom is utilising generative AI to improve service innovation and customer experiences.
Authors
How to access this report
Annual subscription: Subscribe to our research modules for comprehensive access to more than 200 reports per year.
Enquire about subscriptionContact our research team
Get in touch with us to find out more about our research topics and analysis.
Contact our research teamMedia
To cite our research, please see our citation policy in our Terms of Use, or contact our Media team for more information.
Learn moreRelated research
Telefónica: Pushing consumer genAI through the Aura digital assistant
Operator strategies continue to evolve in the digital era as the telecoms industry seeks to capture new growth opportunities in the consumer and enterprise markets. Assessing innovation and achievements is more important than ever before. GSMA Intelligence's operator case studies provide a concise and consistent way to shine a light on and analyse operators' strategies and business models, as well as how they are launching new services. This edition looks at how Telefónica is driving consumer generative AI through its Aura digital assistant.
e&: Embracing consumer genAI with customer experience as the overarching goal
Operator strategies continue to evolve in the digital era as the telecoms industry seeks to capture new growth opportunities in the consumer and enterprise markets. Assessing innovation and achievements is more important than ever before. GSMA Intelligence's operator case studies provide a concise and consistent way to shine a light on and analyse operators' strategies and business models, as well as how they are launching new services. This edition explores e&'s use of generative AI in consumer apps, retail stores and customer service, with customer experience as its overarching goal.
Deutsche Telekom: Driving service innovation and user experience for consumers with genAI
Operator strategies continue to evolve in the digital era as the telecoms industry seeks to capture new growth opportunities in the consumer and enterprise markets. Assessing innovation and achievements is more important than ever before. GSMA Intelligence's operator case studies provide a concise and consistent way to shine a light on and analyse operators' strategies and business models, as well as how they are launching new services. This edition highlights how Deutsche Telekom is utilising generative AI to improve service innovation and customer experiences.
- 200 reports a year
- 50 million data points
- Over 350 metrics