GSMA Releases European Mobile Observatory Outlining Key Developments in the Mobile Industry

"The mobile industry has transformed the way in which we live, work and play by indiscriminately improving and introducing new services and products and creating a more 'connected economy'," said Anne Bouverot , director general, GSMA.  "The Observatory's findings show that the mobile industry is a critical business sector in Europe ; in just twenty years, the mobile industry has grown to become comparable in size to aerospace and larger than pharmaceuticals, with total earnings amounting to euro 174 billion in 2010 and creating an estimated 1.7 million jobs."

The accessibility of voice

Mobile is increasing the accessibility of voice and data communication services for Europeans due to lower up-front and recurring monthly costs compared to fixed line communications. The mobile industry as well makes a very substantial contribution to the European economy including:

The mobile industry is one of the most capital-intensive industries, with capital expenditures representing 12 per cent of sales on average in 2010. The mobile industry's investment demand is considerably higher than for other fast-moving, research-based industries just as pharmaceuticals, telecoms equipment, semiconductor, software and internet services and adds to the economic health and sustainability of supporting industries.

Mobile services are ubiquitously available, with a population coverage rate of near 100 per cent and a mobile penetration rate of 128 per cent in Europe. This represents 656 million individual subscriptions held by an estimated 456 million Europeans, many of whom have more than one subscription. In point of fact, mobile services are often the only regular communication for some socio-economic groups and it's likely that the current youth market will possibly never own a fixed line service.

The dynamics of the industry

Innovative data services have changed the dynamics of the industry and the way consumers use their handsets. This has resulted in a consumer-driven mobile ecosystem with a diverse set of players. Mobile Broadband is forecast to continue growing at over 90 per cent for the at once five years. The explosion in mobile data that Europe is witnessing will continue to be driven by investment and research from players across the mobile ecosystem.

Despite the current difficult macro-economic environment, the industry remains committed to investing in new technologies and new services. In Europe , future technology is likely to come from the implementation of new technologies just as Long Term Evolution and advanced devices to satisfy future requirements for "bandwidth hungry" mobile services. 20 operators have already launched commercial LTE networks, and widespread deployment of LTE is expected throughout Europe by 2014. Spectrum availability is essential to the success of LTE as a new innovation platform. The ability to refarm existing GSM spectrum is an important development that will shape LTE deployment strategies and new service offerings.

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220 countries, the GSMA unites near 800 of the world's mobile operators, as then as more than 200 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organisations. The GSMA as well produces industry-leading events just as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Congress.