The Mobile Economy North America 2020

Most of North America has been subject to lockdown measures at some point in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. During this time, mobile has proved crucial in keeping individuals safe and economies functioning. Mobile networks have held up well, reflecting the significant investments made by operators over a number of years to provide additional network capacity, which was supported by moves at the start of the crisis to temporarily bolster spectrum holdings. The mobile industry has also engaged with businesses and governments on initiatives to alleviate the impact of the pandemic.

Although the rate of 5G adoption was lower than initially expected in the first half of 2020 because of the pandemic, this is likely to be a blip. North America will reach 100 million 5G connections in 2022, and by 2025 it will have become the first region where 5G accounts for more than 50% of total connections.

Alongside 5G rollouts, operators in North America are pursuing ambitious network transformation strategies, which have the potential to reshape the operator cost base and accelerate service innovation. This could prove important as operators seek to capture new revenues in areas such as private networks.

This report also examines the contribution of mobile to the wider economy of North America. In 2019, mobile technologies and services generated 4.8% of GDP in North America, a contribution that amounted to over $1 trillion of economic value added. In the same year, the mobile industry also supported more than 2 million jobs and raised almost $100 billion through taxation.