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. In this edition, we look at China Mobile tapping into cloud gaming services to monetise both 5G networks and the high consumer engagement with games shown by Chinese consumers.

The shifting behaviour of gamers is a major force driving the digital transformation of the gaming sector. Our research, based on a consumer survey in 10 major countries worldwide, shows that there is a shift of gaming consumption from consoles to mobile devices, especially smartphones. Also, like with music and video in the past, a subscription model is now emerging for gaming. This dashboard provides all the relevant data related to gamers' behaviour in a consistent and structured way - a valuable asset for companies looking to formulate or adjust their commercial strategies and plans for gaming.

In this third edition of the gaming report from GSMA Intelligence, we examine how gaming is becoming the new video and map gaming's current ecosystem by looking at which players are driving momentum. We also discuss the findings on consumer gaming trends from our latest 2021 consumer survey, which includes taking a look at the state of gaming devices and discussing the interplay between gaming and technologies such as 5G, blockchain and the metaverse.

Many industries are devising their plans and strategies for the metaverse - typically conceptualised as a network of immersive digital environments where people can interact, game, work and shop, often through virtual reality. Retail, in particular, is moving fast into the virtual parallel world of the metaverse. The opportunity, though, is not simply in the metaverse as an alternative sales channel; it's in creating new retail experiences.

Smart cities are not new, but recent developments indicate a shift to smart and sustainable cities where digital technology is used for multiple purposes including environmental aspects. This requires closer collaboration between city stakeholders throughout the entire smart city lifecycle. Operators are increasingly involved in smart city projects. For some, their role is moving beyond providing connectivity to become smart city solution providers.

This report identifies and analyses the main ecosystem enablers for a thriving tech start-up economy in ASEAN low- and middle-income countries. It outlines best practices in countries where those enablers have helped to create a vibrant tech start-up ecosystem. The report also looks to identify the barriers which are hindering progress among start-ups in the ASEAN tech ecosystem, and then concludes with strategic recommendations for key stakeholders.

For operators eyeing the e-sports opportunity, options include sponsorship, distribution, ownership and B2B infrastructure partnerships. However, the areas with the most value are those where operators themselves will need to compete hardest to win the game.

Financial inclusion is essential to equitable and sustainable development. While some progress has been made in deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria over the past decade, the pace of inclusion has been slow due to significant demand- and supply-side challenges. At the end of 2020, only 51% of adults in Nigeria were using formal financial services, such as mobile money, insurance and pensions.

The impact of mobile on the Indian economy has grown over the past year, with the ecosystem accounting for 4.7% of the country's GDP in 2021. Based on GSMA Intelligence economic modelling, this report provides a brief snapshot of the economic impact of the mobile industry in India, complementing our global and regional analysis.

The digital transformation of vertical sectors represents the biggest catalyst for edge, as nearly half of enterprises find edge capabilities compelling for their IoT deployments and wider digital transformation plans. While edge adoption is still a fraction of its long-term potential, the pace of developments is accelerating in pioneer markets. From a competitive perspective, edge computing is already a battleground, with cloud companies, telecoms vendors and operators launching new commercial solutions and partnerships to drive edge momentum, eager to capture a growing share of the nascent market.

In this snapshot, GSMA Intelligence examines the key announcements and innovations in edge cloud at MWC22, and what they mean for the industry. For the full analysis of topics covered at MWC22, see "MWC22 Barcelona: insights beyond the headlines".

This report shines a light on informal economic opportunities created directly in the mobile industry value chain. Between December 2020 and February 2021, GSMA Mobile for Development conducted interviews and surveys with young people in six Sub-Saharan African countries working directly and informally in the mobile industry.

On the first day of MWC Los Angeles, Intel hosted an executive roundtable on edge computing, with support from the GSMA's Telco Edge Cloud and Operator Platform groups, alongside GSMA Intelligence. Bringing together executives from across the edge computing ecosystem (operators, public cloud players, systems integrators, and edge infrastructure and solution suppliers), the exercise was relatively straightforward: an open exchange of experiences, insights and opinions.

5G has driven renewed interest in B2B, with nearly 70% of operator CEOs viewing enterprise use cases as the incremental opportunity to monetise 5G deployments. The financial angle is important – 5G network investments (more than $700 billion globally for 2021–2025) and the wider 5G business case are more difficult to justify if based on B2C only.

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity report is the annual flagship publication of the Connected Society programme since 2018. This report provides the mobile industry and other stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the trends in global connectivity, as well as insights on key barriers to mobile internet adoption and use, to inform progress towards closing the coverage and usage gaps.

This sixth edition of this report looks at the increased impact the mobile industry has had on achieving the SDGs in the last year and explores what more it needs to do to reach these ambitious goals. It also examines the role the mobile industry has played during the Covid-19 pandemic.

GSMA Intelligence's Chart of the Month is a visual way of telling an important story in the mobile and broader tech ecosystem. From the shape and size of markets to trends in consumer behaviour, we aim to provide food for thought through informative visuals designed to bring colour and clarity to complex issues facing the industry. In this edition, we measure the progress made by operators to diversify their revenue streams.

There is often scepticism about operator success beyond core telecoms, but our research shows that operator revenue diversification is real for major operators. The average contribution to total revenues of services beyond core (B2B and B2C) reached 24% in 2020 for the operators analysed. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital for consumers and enterprises, fuelling further growth beyond core and new opportunities.

Recent tie-ups between operators and cloud vendors have focused on new use cases enabled by the combination of 5G private networks and MEC technology, and the potential benefits for the digital transformation of industries. However, the opportunity also brings the risk of new competitive threats and a need to rethink traditional telco partners.

2021 has seen growing enthusiasm in the automotive sector from tech industry players, including network vendors and smartphone manufacturers. Although there are clear opportunities in automotive for firms from across the tech ecosystem (including mobile operators), success will require patience and the right partnerships.