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Sustained cost pressures and commitments to net zero have made energy efficiency a strategic priority for mobile operators, network infrastructure providers and tower companies. Working closely with a global set of mobile operators, GSMA Intelligence leveraged its independent position and analytical capabilities to launch its Energy Efficiency Analysis and Benchmarking project in 2020. The benchmark is based on real-world data inputs and aims to quantify network energy consumption, efficiency levels and fuel sources. For this edition, GSMA Intelligence invited infrastructure providers and tower companies to participate, sharing their data on energy efficiency.

Global Mobile Trends 2026 highlights the opportunities and innovations ahead, as well as the challenges facing the mobile industry and beyond. Covering topics including AI, 5G, autonomous networks, devices, security, quantum, satellites, energy innovation and eSIM, the report focuses on what matters in 2026 and the implications for the industry. The latest edition of Global Mobile Trends delivers expert insights into the key trends that will define the mobile ecosystem in 2026 and beyond. Backed by GSMA Intelligence’s industry-leading research and data, the report provides an authoritative look at the forces shaping the next wave of connectivity and innovation.

While there are several indicators and metrics in telecoms, the industry has traditionally lacked a global, comprehensive metric to measure environmental sustainability. In 2025, GSMA Intelligence developed the Green Network Index (GNI), which proposed a single figure to measure the overall environmental sustainability for telecoms networks and help establish a path to greener networks. The second edition of the Green Network Index has expanded to include 138 networks, benchmarking progress at the operator and country levels.

The Green Network Index is a tool for tracking progress on sustainability among telcos and understanding what is driving or holding back progress. The index offers granular data to allow for country and regional comparisons. Alongside the flagship GNI report and index, GSMA Intelligence is releasing a series of company case studies to illustrate innovation in action. This case study highlights how Openserve has taken a leadership position by re-architecting its network energy model, using AI-driven optimisation and renewable energy integration to ensure resilience, affordability and sustainability.

The Green Network Index is a tool for tracking progress on sustainability among telcos and understanding what is driving or holding back progress. The index offers granular data to allow for country and regional comparisons. Alongside the flagship GNI report and index, GSMA Intelligence is releasing a series of company case studies to illustrate innovation in action. This case study highlights how scale and technological sophistication position China Mobile (Guangdong) as both a major energy consumer and a critical testbed for how next-generation networks can be delivered through more energy-efficient and sustainable operating models.

Messaging remains a remains a near-ubiquitous method of mobile communication, enabling person-to-person (P2P) communications and business-to-person, also known as application-to-person (A2P), communications. With the increasing cannibalisation of P2P SMS by OTT services, the potential for a monetisable business model and strong appetite among enterprises to engage with their customers via the messaging channel, A2P SMS offers the greatest messaging revenue opportunity for mobile operators.

This Insight Spotlight is part of our 5G Next series, which helps clarify the next phase of 5G and highlights key technological innovations. Energy efficiency is becoming increasingly critical as it directly affects operational costs, while the integration of new network layers can contribute to rising energy consumption. Reducing operational complexity, unlocking actionable insights and transforming billing will be foundational to achieve efficiency, sustainability goals and long-term network resilience in the 5G era and beyond.

Sustained cost pressures and commitments to net zero have made energy efficiency a strategic priority for telecoms operators; sustainability registered as a top network transformation priority for operators around the world in 2024. Partnering with a global set of mobile operators, GSMA Intelligence leveraged its independent position and analytical capabilities to launch its Energy Efficiency Analysis and Benchmarking project in 2020. The benchmark is based on fully anonymised, real-world data inputs, with a goal of quantifying network energy consumption, efficiency levels and fuel sources. With each successive year, operator participation in the benchmarking project has grown. The result is a unique, increasingly salient, network-level global data set on energy efficiency, alongside insights into sustainability trends, technologies and best practices.

While there are several indicators and metrics in the telecoms sector, there is not yet a comprehensive or holistic metric to measure environmental sustainability. Thus, GSMA Intelligence has developed the Green Network Index (GNI), which proposes a single figure that attempts to summarise overall environmental sustainability for networks and outline an evolutionary path. This recommended figure includes 10 elements, including resource and emission efficiency, renewable energy usage, network performance, availability and vertical enablement, among others.

Today, mobile connectivity is not only a means for people to communicate but is also an important tool for governments and other authorities to stimulate socioeconomic progress, support vulnerable people and build innovative solutions to enhance the well-being of society. Mobile technologies and services now generate around 5.8% of global GDP, a contribution that amounts to $6.5 trillion of economic value added. 5G, in particular, continues to benefit most sectors of the global economy. Mobile’s ability to deliver economic growth relies on spectrum. Today, the mobile ecosystem is already working with governments to plan spectrum for 6G, spectrum which will come into use around the 2030s.

The complexity of reorienting network strategy around sustainability means a clear framework is key for prioritising when and where actions should be taken. This report outlines such a framework, offering telecoms operators and their suppliers a 'true north' to guide decision-making.

The economics of rolling out telecoms networks in rural areas have long proved challenging. The difficulties centre on running a high fixed cost business against a lower revenue base. To examine the state and outlook for energy use among African telecoms operators, GSMA Intelligence ran a data gathering exercise involving most of the largest telecoms operators in the region.

This Insight Spotlight is the third part of a series - called 5G Next - to help better understand the promising 5G technology innovations shaping mobile networks. This edition explores the future of antennas and the potential impact of the digitalisation of antennas on operator finances and service quality.

This Insight Spotlight is the second part of a series - called 5G Next - to help better understand the next phase of the 5G era and highlight promising technology innovations shaping networks. This edition explores automated solutions, also known as orchestration, which can help deliver energy-efficient 5G deployments and achieve the right balance between energy use and user experience.

An emerging area of focus for net zero is energy production and its supply to the power grid. Virtual power plants offer mobile operators opportunities for more stable power capacity, more efficient use of renewables, and a revenue stream from frequency balancing and power sales.

Sustained cost pressures and commitments to net zero have made energy efficiency a strategic priority for telecoms operators. Partnering with a global set of mobile operators, GSMA Intelligence leveraged its independent position and analytical capabilities to launch its Mobile Energy Efficiency Benchmarking project in 2020. The benchmark is based on fully anonymised, real-world data inputs, with a goal of quantifying network energy consumption, efficiency levels and fuel sources. 2023 was the third year of tracking energy efficiency by GSMA Intelligence.

The huge rise in mobile data traffic forecast over the remainder of the decade means both edge and cloud compute will have to handle higher capacity loads. How best to increase the energy efficiency of those parts of the network? How far along are technical innovations in the edge and cloud compared to the radio network?

The GSMA Mobile Economy series provides the latest insights on the state of the mobile industry worldwide. The reports contain a range of technology, socioeconomic and financial datasets and analysis, including forecasts out to 2030.

This follow-up report to "5G energy efficiencies: green is the new black" establishes the context and rationale for improving energy efficiency among operators and their supply chain. This comes as 5G enters a new phase, with 5G adoption reaching more than 15% from almost nothing three years ago.