Manufacturing was one of the first industries in which major companies embraced digital technology. It is also one of the first to provide scaled proof points of automation and other techniques to help improve energy efficiency. It is a good barometer for what the corporate world, academics and politicians are increasingly calling the 'green economy' and sustainable business practice.

The outbreak of Covid-19 spurred a digital evolution for many citizens, firms and industries. Alongside this, the use of the term 'metaverse' surged in 2021. Myriad potential use cases are foreseen as the metaverse unlocks access to new creative, social and economic opportunities. With MWC Barcelona 2022 on the horizon, there is huge interest in understanding and discussing this much-hyped topic and what it could herald.

To help navigate the year ahead, we are releasing a series of reports that highlight the key trends to watch in 2022 and what they mean for ecosystem players. The analysis covers five key areas: 5G and network transformation; spectrum; IoT and the wider enterprise space; the digital consumer; and fixed and pay-TV markets. This Insight Spotlight addresses the digital consumer landscape.

The use of mobile and digital technology is a key enabler of the decarbonisation transition. Telecoms operators, vendors and supporting ecosystem partners play a key role in the move to digital and low-carbon economies. This latest research demonstrates the clear, practical and beneficial impact of using mobile and digital technologies in the largest and most relied upon industries.

The GSMA's sixth annual report on digital societies in Asia Pacific tracked the progress of 11 focus countries (Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam) on the key aspects of a digital society: digital identity, digital citizenship, digital lifestyle and digital commerce. This year's report includes an update to the index to better reflect today's technology.

Successfully increasing levels of mobile internet coverage, adoption and usage means adopting a data-driven approach to policymaking, with priorities determined by a country's local context and level of digital development. The GSMA's Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI) facilitates this type of data-centric analysis and evidence-based decisions. This report provides guidelines for policymakers on how to use the MCI to understand where to focus efforts in order to drive increased mobile internet coverage, adoption and usage.

Many operators include non-connectivity offerings in their mobile subscription packages to make them more attractive to consumers. Video and music streaming content, smart home services and cloud storage are the most common. Our Consumers in Focus Survey reveals important insights operators should consider when designing their new mobile offerings and bundles in the 5G era.

This report identifies enablers that create a suitable environment for scaling digital platforms, explores strategies for scaling and determines the challenges faced by digital platforms trying to scale. It also provides an update to the haves/needs framework, considering how this structure can be applied to digital platforms and mobile operators in developing countries. Finally, the report offers recommendations for key stakeholders.

Despite the investments of the telecoms sector to expand 4G mobile broadband coverage, 4G is yet to emerge as the dominant form of mobile technology in Bangladesh. This suggests a lag between 4G coverage rollout and usage of 4G services. The lag is largely explained by issues related to the affordability of devices, low levels of knowledge and digital skills, a perceived lack of relevance, and safety and security concerns.

This is the fifth report in the GSMA Digital Societies series, tracking the progress of 11 countries in Asia Pacific on the path to becoming fully fledged digital societies. This year's edition highlights the use of a whole-of-government approach to accelerate progress on the digital society journey and better coordinate the development and implementation of digital transformation initiatives across the public sector, complemented by private sector investment and innovation.

Operators have had limited involvement with the manufacturing sector, with relationships usually confined to traditional B2B connectivity and, to a lesser extent, services in cloud, security, analytics and IoT. This is, however, rapidly changing as a result of the enhanced capabilities offered by 5G.

In this Insight Spotlight, we focus on the impact of Covid-19 on the telecoms sector in emerging markets. We investigate the role mobile plays in keeping people connected in these markets, the factors feeding into revenue downturns, and how network buildouts and entertainment services are likely to be affected as lockdowns continue.

Pakistan is an emerging mobile economy, with digital technologies beginning to transform the way people live and work. However, Pakistan still has a sizeable 'coverage gap' and lags behind peers in certain areas, including mobile broadband adoption. As highlighted in this report, policymakers must broaden access to high-quality mobile broadband networks, affordable services and smartphones by implementing fair and predictable tax and spectrum licensing regimes.

Amid trade tensions and ongoing reforms, which are being criticised for not moving fast enough, several countries have designed their own digital taxes. At a time when retail and domestic businesses are under pressure (even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic), criticism of big tech will escalate unless there are adequate revisions to international taxation rules.

IoT professional services consistently accounts for more than a quarter of global IoT revenue and serves as a foundation for digital transformation projects. Operators are keen to compete in this segment, but past experience has shown they lack the scale to compete directly with the leaders in this space, such as Accenture. Instead, the opportunity for operators lies in the provision of IoT professional services to small and medium-sized enterprises to lay a foundation for future IoT contract upgrades.

To fully realise the opportunity mobile technology presents to achieve Pakistan's national development aspirations, there is a need for key stakeholders on the country's development journey to collaborate on key initiatives and actions that can increase access to mobile connectivity and accelerate its impact on the lives of individuals and communities. In this report we have identified three distinct but interrelated actions for stakeholders to enhance the impact of mobile-enabled digital transformation on Pakistan's development aspirations.

By enabling collaboration within the mobile ecosystem, between industry verticals, or even across national governments, digital platforms enable a connected ecosystem of customers, vendors and third-party players, simultaneously supporting and benefiting from the key components of a digital society. Collaboration is particularly important as we enter the 5G era. As numerous countries in Asia Pacific launch 5G operations over the next few years, a thriving ecosystem needs to be in place to help drive the creation and delivery of 5G products and services.

This graphic-led, short report highlights key trends across different segments of the digital ecosystem in Latin America, including mobile adoption and technology evolution, IoT, media and entertainment, and smart home trends. It also highlights the key policy enablers for sustained investment and innovation in the Latin America mobile ecosystem.

With more people using mobile services today in Uganda than ever before, the technology is having a direct impact on social and economic activities and, by extension, supporting progress with the national and global development goals. In this report, we highlight five broad areas where the use of mobile technology is having a notable impact in Uganda.

Mobile technology is at the centre of Tanzania’s digital transformation. Mobile services today connect more people in the country than any other communications technology, with around 42% of the population subscribing to a mobile service in 2018. Mobile internet penetration has nearly quadrupled since 2010 to 18.5%, with more than 8 million new mobile internet subscribers added over that period. This report highlights four important contributions the mobile industry is making to Tanzania’s development goals: access to key services; productivity and efficiency; contribution to economic growth and social development; and good governance.