Collaborative platforms for digital societies in Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific is entering a new phase of digital development. As digital platforms become integral to economic activity, public services, finance, communications and emerging technologies such as AI, trust becomes a critical enabler of digital transformation. This report examines the trust imperative across Asia Pacific, examines the results of the Digital Nations Index in the context of trust, outlines the role of mobile operators as guardians of digital trust, and presents priorities for strengthening the foundations of digital trust for governments, regulators, operators and international cooperation institutions.

Developing Asia Pacific is home to 4.3 billion people – more than half the world’s population. However, 1.2 billion people are not online. Achieving universal connectivity by 2030 will require additional investment of around $184 billion. The economic case for closing this gap is significant. Closing the 4G connectivity gap by 2030 is estimated to deliver a GDP uplift of around $230 billion across Developing Asia Pacific. Universal connectivity would also have several wider socioeconomic benefits such as poverty reduction, improved education and health access, humanitarian assistance and lower carbon emissions. This report presents the findings from a study by GSMA Intelligence on closing the mobile connectivity gap in Developing Asia Pacific, commissioned by the Asian Development Bank.

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 250 enterprises in India 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.