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Mobile Ecosystem to Add $11tn into Global Economy by 2030

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The mobile ecosystem continues its upward trajectory, with projections that it will contribute $11 trillion, or 8.4% of global gross domestic product (GDP), in economic value by 2030.

The ecosystem currently generates around 5.8% of global GDP, which is equivalent to $6.5 trillion of economic value added. This is one of the highlights from the GSM Association’s (GSMA’s) recently released Mobile Economy Report 2025, which was authored by GSMA Intelligence, its research arm.

The GSMA categorises the mobile ecosystem into three areas: mobile operators, infrastructure and equipment, and content and services.

Mobile’s contribution to the global economy is being driven by several factors, it states. These include countries around the world increasingly benefiting from improvements in productivity and efficiency brought about by the increased take-up of mobile services and Digital technologies, including 5G, internet of things (IOT) and artificial intelligence (AI).

“Mobile technologies and the ensuing digital transformation will boost the economy by nearly $11 trillion in 2030. Much of this will materialise in regions with a higher integration of digital technologies in enterprises, including North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

“Towards the end of the decade, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are expected to realise an increasing proportion of economic benefits, as mobile technology achieves greater scale and widespread adoption. However, current adoption of more advanced technologies in LMICs is lagging adoption in high-income countries.

“Mobile technologies are expected to benefit all sectors of the global economy, although some industries will benefit more than others due to their ability to incorporate the latest wave of digital technologies, including 5G, IOT and AI.”

The report shows that 58% of the world’s population used mobile internet at the end of 2024, representing 4.7 billion users – an increase of 2.2 billion since 2015.

This number is expected to rise to 5.5 billion users (64%) by 2030, it notes. However, the GSMA points out that the growth rate at which people are adopting mobile internet has slowed in recent years.

“Around 110 million people started using mobile internet in 2024, which is slightly down on the 2022 and 2023 figures, and significantly lower than growth in 2015 to 2021, when more than 200 million people became connected each year.

“Of the 3.4 billion people who remain unconnected to mobile internet, almost 90% live in an area already covered by mobile broadband, but do not use mobile internet. With mobile internet adoption outpacing network expansion, this usage gap has continued to shrink, standing at 38% by the end of 2024.

“However, the usage gap remains nine times the size of the coverage gap, and is over 45% in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.”

According to the report, by 2028, 5G adoption will surpass that of 4G adoption. This, as 5G connections worldwide surpassed two billion at the end of 2024, with expectations that 5G will account for over half (57%) of total mobile connections in 2030.

“The share of mobile connections on 4G is beginning to wane as 5G commercialisation gathers pace. As of December 2024, 305 operators in 121 markets had launched commercial 5G mobile services. More countries are expected to follow, with 80 operators from 60 markets announcing launch plans for mobile 5G services in the coming years.

“With 2G and 3G networks accounting for less than 20% of mobile connections worldwide, legacy networks are being phased out in many regions. By the end of November 2024, a total of 152 networks had been shut down and another 131 networks were planned to be shut down by 2030.

“Asia Pacific and Europe lead the way, accounting for around 70% of network sunsets to date. Network sunsets enable more efficient spectrum use, while also reducing energy consumption.”

According to the GSMA report, the number of 5G connections worldwide surpassed two billion at the end of 2024, accounting for more than half of mobile connections in North America, Greater China and developed Asia Pacific.

“Growth will intensify in the second half of this decade, with 5G adoption set to exceed 80% in leading 5G markets by 2030.

“It is still early days for 5G adoption in most emerging 5G markets. However, 5G adoption will gather pace over the next few years with the arrival of cheaper 5G smartphones and new spectrum assignments.

“As a result, 5G is expected to account for almost 40% of total mobile connections in LMICs (excluding China) by the end of the decade, equivalent to 2.3 billion connections.”


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Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

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Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.

Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.

Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.

The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.

However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.

MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.

In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.

Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.

Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.

Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.

“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.

 


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Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

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The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.

The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”

The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.

A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.

This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.

According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.

However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.

There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.

These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.

According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.

“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.

“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”

It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.

“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.

For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.

“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.

It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.


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Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

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Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.

Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.

Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).

Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.

Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.

“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”

Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response

Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.

Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.

The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.

Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.


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