Refurbished smartphones: consumers look to savings over sustainability

For the last three years, GSMA Intelligence has run a benchmarking study to analyse progress on the ESG Metrics for Mobile. With 23 mobile operators participating in the latest assessment, the report highlights industry-wide progress and offers data-driven insights into the evolving landscape of ESG reporting in the mobile sector. The 2025 study highlights improvements in reporting and performance across several areas, including GHG emissions and energy consumption. But there remains work to be done elsewhere as gaps persists in metrics related to circularity, digital skills and supply chain assessments.

While telecoms networks, data centres and devices have their own carbon footprints, their systemic value lies in the ability to make energy-intensive sectors more efficient, more electrified and better optimised. This report looks beyond headline efficiency gains to capture the net impact of ICT. It assesses the net ICT enablement effect across five major emitting sectors: manufacturing, transportation, energy & power, buildings and agriculture.

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’s smart home offering is part of its wider strategy to transform into a leading digital telco.