CES 2019: the show, the shiny and the shape of things to come

B2B has emerged as a strategic growth area for operators and the wider tech/digital ecosystem. As the digital transformation of vertical sectors accelerates, gaining insights directly from enterprises is key. GSMA Intelligence surveyed more than 430 enterprises across six countries in Africa, from 10 vertical sectors, to gain insight into their digital transformation. The research focused on strategic objectives, investment plans, use of technology, deployment challenges, supplier decisions, tech sovereignty, and policy and regulation.

From the shape and size of markets to trends in consumer behaviour, GSMA Intelligence aims to provide food for thought through informative visuals designed to bring colour and clarity to complex issues facing the industry. This chart highlights how replacement intention data from the GSMA Intelligence Consumer Survey suggests sales of smartphones will remain under pressure.

This edition of the Industry Checkpoint series focuses on digital industries, highlighting how the market has changed in the last six months and its implications. The report considers four major developments: European operators intensifying their activities in sovereign cloud services; mobile networks growing their relevance with the emerging drone/UAV industry; operators in Japan accelerating their work in the physical AI space; and robotaxi services preparing for launch in Europe.