Mobile data growth to triple by 2028- GSMA reports

Mobile data traffic will triple by 2028 in Europe thanks to the surging 5G adoption and upgradation to 4G, GSMA said on its latest Mobile Economy Report Europe 2023 on Thursday (November 23).

The report mentions that the increased data traffic will stem from the growing use cases of gaming, XR (Extended Reality) applications, and video consumption. The need to stay connected is becoming a principle and also a need among smartphone users.

The report distinctly highlights that by 2028, 5G will become the continent’s most prominent mobile technology thanks to its growth in Germany and the UK.

However, the report does point out some shortcomings too. Despite this march of 5G, the report highlighted that continued growth was “tempered by concerns about the impact of policies holding back investment in next-generation network technologies in Europe, threatening the bloc’s digital leadership globally as well as its ambitious digital decade goals”.

Also read: Asia Pacific will see 5G users rise tenfold by 2030

Likewise, the continent also leaves quite a lot to desire. Europe fell 5% shorter of live networks in standalone 5G, a type of technology where the wireless communication standard operates on its own dedicated architecture. It went further dismal compared to 25% in APAC.

The report showed incremental growth in mobile data usage in European regions. Western Europe will see its mobile data traffic reach 56 GB a month by 2028 compared to just 20 GB in 2022. Both Central and Eastern Europe’s smartphone data traffic will reach 37 GB per month from 14 GB in 2022.

The report also maintains that the growth projected will require that operators continue to invest in mobile networks. European operators will reportedly spend over $216 billion by 2030 for upgrade works.

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