World to spend $1.1 trillion on mobile industry end of 2017 – Report

A new report projects that the global mobile industry will invest $1.1 trillion in capital expenditure from now to 2017.

The global body, GSMA on February 25, 2013 released the report titled, “The Mobile Economy 2013”, in which it states that the total mobile ecosystem revenues were $1.6 trillion, or 2.2% of global GDP.

The industry, it indicated, will also contribute $2.6 trillion to public funding for the period through 2017, the report said noting that the mobile industry is a major contributor to the global economy

“For the period through 2017, the mobile industry will invest $1.1 trillion in capital expenditure and will contribute $2.6 trillion to public funding,” according to the GSMA-A.T. Kearney joint report.

Importantly, in 2017, companies across the ecosystem will employ nearly 10 million people globally, it added.

The report provided a comprehensive overview of the mobile industry today, and outlines the key opportunities and challenges for the mobile industry over the next five years. It also offered critical insights into the health of the mobile communications industry and details the global enablers needed to spur further investment and growth in the sector.

“The mobile industry’s economic impact reaches far beyond its already-impressive $1.6 trillion in revenues, to boost individual well-being, corporate productivity and government funding,” said Mark Page, leader of A.T. Kearney’s Communications, Media and Technology practice and co-author of the report.

The report said there were 6.8 billion mobile connections worldwide at the end of 2012 and the figure is expected to grow to 9.7 billion by the end of 2017.

“Mobile broadband accounted for 1.6 billion of these connections in 2012, increasing to 5.1 billion in 2017, including 920 million LTE connections,” it said.

Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA said “Mobile has gone beyond being a mere communications tool to one that provides life-enhancing, and in some cases life-saving services to men, women and children. It’s exciting to look at the possibilities ahead of us as we connect the world’s population to the mobile Internet.”

With the number of mobile subscribers standing at 3.2 billion people, the report added that nearly half of the world’s population now uses mobile communications.

It is expected that a further 700 million subscribers will be added by 2017 and the four billion-subscriber milestone will be reached in 2018, the GSMA and A.T Kearney said.

By Ekow Quandzie