All research

5G is beginning to make inroads in Africa, though its overall impact remains uneven and limited. With the technology now in its seventh year of deployment, this is a critical juncture for stakeholders to take immediate and coordinated action to accelerate deployment, deepen adoption and maximise the impact of 5G in the region. This includes addressing bottlenecks to spectrum availability and introducing policy incentives to stimulate both consumer and enterprise demand, particularly in markets where operators have already invested heavily in network rollouts.

As digital infrastructure becomes increasingly central to key economic and social outcomes, policymakers are placing a greater emphasis on security and resilience. A key development in this context is the European Commission’s proposal to strengthen cybersecurity requirements through an updated regulatory framework – Cybersecurity Act 2 (known as CSA2). This includes provisions that require the removal of critical equipment supplied by designated high-risk vendors from telecoms infrastructure within a defined timeframe. GSMA Intelligence has conducted unique research to assess the cost of removing critical components from high-risk vendors from European telecoms networks.

Financially strong operators are essential to improve network quality, expand coverage, support growth in capacity and deliver new network functionality linked to 5G standalone, AI and beyond. However, over the past decade, structural trends have placed increasing pressure on the industry’s financial foundations. This report is the first in a series that seeks to address a critical evidence gap in the understanding of the financial sustainability of the mobile sector and its main drivers.

Over the last 10 years, the number of MVNOs around the world has grown by 70%. As the consumer market is a major focus for MVNOs, analysing and comparing the behaviour of MVNO and MNO customers offers insight than can be used to inform business strategies and commercial decisions. This research unveils the biggest differences and their commercial implications.

As the market races to evaluate the opportunity of token-focused AI monetisation, perhaps the most important question is around the challenges and risks. Against the backdrop of an evolving and uncertain new market, this piece covers the potential pitfalls that operators need to be aware of.

This white paper, using evidence from a GSMA Intelligence survey of operators in Asia Pacific, explains why traditional perimeter-based security is no longer enough and what operators need to do to build a more resilient, architecture-led approach. It covers how AI is changing the threat landscape; why expanding attack surfaces require stronger governance; and how native security, depth defence, dual security operation centre (SOC) operations and AI-enabled tools can help operators protect critical networks.

Pay-TV markets are seeing an unprecedented evolution, driven by technology investments, shifting consumer behaviour and competition (including from OTT players). This quarterly series outlines the latest market developments and the key trends to watch, charting the period to 2030. The report also provides comprehensive cross-country comparisons at your fingertips, allowing you to identify which markets or technologies will grow the most or how OTT competition will impact the adoption of traditional pay TV.

Fixed markets continue to evolve around the world, with technology investments, competition, M&A and shifting consumer behaviour being major drivers. This quarterly series outlines the latest market developments and the key trends to watch, charting the period to 2030. The report also provides comprehensive cross-country comparisons at your fingertips, allowing you to identify which markets or technologies will grow the most.

This latest edition of the GSMA Open Gateway research series provides an update on the state of the market, recent developments and examples of Open Gateway in action. The market is increasingly moving away from operator-specific API exposure and towards platform-mediated distribution, where developers prefer a single integration point with global reach. This changes the commercial dynamic for the ecosystem.

European mobile markets are undergoing a structural shift: rising data usage, declining revenue per user, saturating subscriber penetration and sustained investment requirements have made operator scale increasingly important. Europe remains the least concentrated major mobile region in the world, with operators being structurally subscale compared to global peers. This gap has widened during precisely the period when scale matters most.

To aid operators that are evaluating middle-mile transport solutions, GSMA Intelligence has developed the TCO Calculator, based on research and analysis of existing and emerging middle-mile transport solutions across a number of deployment scenarios around the world. The rapid expansion of 5G networks is driving an unprecedented surge in mobile data consumption, which is placing immense pressure on the middle mile. As a result, operators must diversify their product/solution mix for middle-mile transport.

With a 33% rise in international visitors this year, MWC Shanghai speaks to China’s influence and gravitational pull on the regional Asian tech economy and reciprocal demand from buyers to see and be seen on the MWC stage in an already busy event calendar. The analysis here highlights the key takeaways and implications from the meetings, summits and announcements at the event.

The key takeaways in Q2 2026 are that satellite connectivity is shifting into a major strategic battleground and sovereignty is now a crucial question. A proposed SpaceX IPO at a very high valuation underscores expectations that Starlink will evolve beyond infrastructure into a direct competitor to mobile operators, particularly in mobile and AI-linked connectivity markets. However, the analysis suggests the realistic near-term revenue opportunity is far smaller than the headline figures imply, reinforcing that growth depends on execution of next-generation satellite deployments rather than total market substitution.

With network and service automation a hallmark of the TM Forum’s work, there was never any doubt as to the predominant theme at this year’s DTW Ignite event in Copenhagen. While AI is impacting nearly every aspect of telecoms networks and services, a key question was how this would be reflected in the event’s keynotes, launches and meetings. Agentic AI played a significant role in this year’s messaging – but, more surprisingly, core network automation garnered outsized attention.

China’s mobile ecosystem is entering a new phase as large-scale 5G deployment gives way to more intelligent, differentiated and resilient digital infrastructure. In 2025, mobile technologies and services generated $1.5 trillion in economic value, equivalent to 7.2% of GDP, while supporting employment, fiscal revenues and economy-wide digital transformation.

Several dynamics have either emerged or intensified, materially altering the strategic role of the mobile core. These shifts demand a fresh review of how mobile core networks are evolving – and how they must continue to evolve. The mobile core remains an enabling layer. At the same time, it is becoming an intelligent, adaptive platform that will shape how operators compete, differentiate and grow in the AI era – as long as operators know how to put it to use and evolve its capabilities.

Saudi Arabia is a leading country in digital transformation, with mobile connectivity playing a central role in supporting economic growth, innovation and Vision 2030. This study assesses Saudi Arabia’s mobile quality of service (QoS) and market status in a global context, with a focus on digital infrastructure benchmarking, 5G development, public policy, QoS obligations and alignment with international best practice.

As 5G becomes the foundation of Qatar’s digital economy, the importance of securing its networks extends beyond consumer protection to national security and economic stability. This is the second report in a two-part series exploring how Qatar can strengthen cybersecurity resilience in a rapidly evolving 5G landscape. It presents a national 5G threat model and threat matrix designed to help operators and policymakers translate strategic priorities into actionable security measures.

By investing in AI factories, telecoms operators can leverage their infrastructure, traffic, customer base and regulatory positioning to capture a meaningful share of the expanding AI and cloud revenue pool. Scenario analysis suggests AI factories could deliver an incremental uplift of 1.5–6.0% to total operator revenues, depending on execution and market share capture. This represents a meaningful growth lever in an otherwise mature industry.