Asia Pacific's Mobile Economy Forecast to Grow to $1 trillion by 2030, as 5G Technologies Accelerate Region's Digital Transformation

SINGAPORE, July 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The mobile industry's contribution to Asia Pacific's economy will grow beyond $1 trillion by 2030, with faster adoption of 5G technologies in the region meaning it will exceed average global growth rates, according to the GSMA's Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2024 report launched today.

Unveiled at the GSMA's Digital Nation Summit Singapore, the report shows that mobile technologies and services generated 5.3% of GDP across Asia Pacific in 2023, a contribution that amounted to $880bn of economic value. Mobile's contribution to the APAC economy over the period of 2023-2030 will outpace the global average, growing by 15% in the region, compared to the global average growth of 12%.

Additional key findings from this report include:

Mobile internet users in APAC will grow from 1.4bn (51% penetration rate) to 1.8bn (61% penetration rate) in 2030. Mobile data traffic in Asia Pacific will quadruple between 2023 and 2030 driven by an increase in data intensive content and growth in 5G adoption. Satellites and non-terrestrial networks can help reduce the connectivity gap, by bringing communications to the region's challenging terrains. Operators across the Asia Pacific region are harnessing the power of generative AI (genAI) to drive internal transformations and seize new revenue streams through AI investment.

Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, said: "The growth in Asia Pacific's mobile internet usage over the past decade has been nothing short of remarkable and the region continues to innovate at pace."

Mr Yuen Kuan Moon, Singtel Group CEO, added: "We see the exponential rise in enterprise mobile applications and solutions as a big boost to businesses, especially given the emergence of GenAI and the shift to the cloud as digitalisation continues to accelerate. This is why we've been working with many industry leaders to leverage intelligence, machine learning and robotics and cloudification to improve their productivity and customer engagement as well as innovate and scale their operations. While we ensure that our customers are well-supported in their digital transformation journey, we're also mindful of the need to continue to provide vulnerable groups with access to digital tools so they too can be empowered and engaged in a digital economy."

Continue to read this press release here.