According to a new report by GSMA, more than half of european mobile connections will be running on 4G network by 2020 driven by network investments and smart devices, helping to stimulate a recovery in the continent’s mobile industry. The new study, ‘Mobile Economy: Europe 2014’, finds that the trend is fuelling consumer demand for a new wave of innovative mobile services, helping European operators move towards a stabilization of revenues and margins following several years of declines in one of the world’s most competitive mobile regions.
Europe is expected to have 431 million unique mobile subscribers by year-end, representing 79 per cent of the region’s population – the highest penetration rate of any region worldwide. Unique subscribers are forecast to rise to 454 million by 2020, an 82 per cent penetration rate. The number of mobile connections, excluding M2M, currently stands at 688 million and is forecast to rise to 762 million by 2020.
According to the same report, 4G networks currently cover 63 per cent of the European population, having surpassed the 50 per cent milestone earlier this year. 4G networks in Europe are increasingly being deployed using the ‘Digital Dividend’ spectrum freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting for use by the mobile operators, which is enabling greater coverage reach. 4G networks are expected to be accessible by 83 per cent of the European population by 2020.
Anne Bouverot, Director General of the GSMA
There are encouraging signs that Europe’s mobile industry is beginning to recover as both operators and consumers begin to see the benefit from the billions of euros of investment in 4G networks over the last few years. Europe’s mobile operators are embracing new technologies and new business models, leading innovation in areas such as M2M, digital commerce, mobile identity and advanced network services.
