Evaluating the impact of Covid-19 on mobile

What began as a health concern localised in China has quickly become a global pandemic. Fearing Covid-19’s impact on healthcare systems and public wellbeing, governments across the globe have instated quarantines, travel bans and lockdowns, among other measures. Although there have been many international health crises before, the Covid-19 pandemic differs because of its scale, the worldwide efforts being taken to address it, and the larger role of China in the global economy. Undoubtedly, the outbreak will impact the development of the mobile ecosystem, including uptake of 5G as deployments begin to scale. As GSMA Intelligence forecasts this impact, it’s important to understand the assumptions and market signals guiding our analysis, which we outline below.