Consumer Insights Survey: mapping mobile internet use

Developed markets

Vastly exceeding their role as simple communication devices, mobile phones have evolved into all-purpose tools that can touch virtually any aspect of a person’s life. In the annual GSMA Intelligence Consumer Insights Survey, we measure consumer behaviour on mobile devices in order to understand current usage trends, and to predict how changes in consumer behaviour will reshape the mobile industry in the future.

Depending on where you live, mobile phones can serve different purposes – something we see driven by the availability and maturity of mobile services, but also variations in consumer demand. Constant across all geographies, however, is that activity on mobile phones grows more complex with each passing year.

Across 21 markets and split into four categories (communications, entertainment, financial and information), the survey captures country-level nuance around 28 consumer mobile internet use cases. The regional variations in service preferences and usage habits will help to understand the needs and behaviours that drive mobile engagement today, and allow us to anticipate the trends that will carry the mobile industry into the 5G era.