Skip to main content

State of Global Cellular Connectivity in 2019 and 2025

GSMA published their global Mobile Economy report recently. While there were not many surprises for me as I have used it over the years for various presentations and reports, others may be a bit surprised, especially with all the hype around 5G. Before we jump into the numbers, the chart that caught my eye is as shown above.

Coverage gap is easy to understand because these are the people / areas that have no coverage. The usage gap defines people who are in a region covered by some or the other technology but are not connected. There could be various factors in play because of affordability or no need, etc.

The report states that there were 8.0 billion cellular connections (excluding IoT) in 2019 and this will increase to 8.8 billion by 2025. Looking at the mobile connections worldwide, we see that in 2025, there will still be around 5% of the users using 2G (mainly GSM) technology. While this may sound like a small number, this is still roughly 440 millions users worldwide. 18% of the connections will be 3G, which is 1.58 billion in numbers. 5G will be slightly better than 3G with 20% or 1.76 billion connections while the dominant technology will be 4G with 56% or 4.93 billion connections.


All these connectivity technologies will vary significantly from region to region as can be seen above. For example in China, there will hardly be any 2G or 3G left by 2025 while in Sub-Saharn Africa, 3G will be the dominant technology.

I encourage you to dig deep into the report and point out any gems that you find. There is around 60 pages of very valuable details and surely I will be writing more on this topic.

The mobile economy report is available here. The promo video from GSMA is embedded below.



 Related Posts:
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Highlights from XGMF's Conference to Advance Millimetre Wave Technology

On April 1, 2024, two of Japan's leading connectivity organizations—the 5G Mobile Promotion Forum (5GMF) and the Beyond 5G Promotion Consortium (B5GPC)—joined forces to create the XG Mobile Promotion Forum ( XGMF ). This merger symbolizes a pivotal step in accelerating the adoption of next-generation wireless technologies. In May 2024, XGMF's Millimeter Wave Promotion Ad Hoc (Millimeter Wave AH) hosted the International Workshop on Millimeter Wave Dissemination for 5G. This event aimed to foster the adoption of millimeter wave (mmWave) technology in Japan and beyond, drawing an audience of approximately 200 attendees and broadcasting in both English and Japanese. The workshop featured opening remarks by Mr. Naohiko Ogiwara, Director of the Radio Department, Telecommunications Infrastructure Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). Key speakers included: Mr. Takanori Mashiko (MIC, slides ) Mr. Sam Gielges (Qualcomm, online - no slides) Mr. Christopher Pric...
Post a Comment
Read more

Testing, Refining, and Improving Stratospheric Connectivity: NTT Docomo’s HAPS Trials

At MWC 2025, NTT Docomo highlighted its latest initiatives under the NTT Group's "NTT C89" space-business strategy, such as mobile-connectivity services using unmanned vehicles, or high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), that fly in the stratosphere for days or months, using relays to provide mobile connectivity in mountainous and remote areas, including at sea and in the sky. A presentation on NTT C89 Aerospace Business Strategy is available here while a presentation on NTT DOCOMO's Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) for Extreme Coverage Extension is available here . Stratospheric connectivity, enabled by High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), is emerging as a key solution for extending mobile coverage to remote and underserved areas. However, ensuring that these airborne platforms can provide stable, high-quality connectivity requires extensive testing and refinement. At MWC 2025, NTT Docomo showcased its progress in this domain, highlighting multiple real-world trials...
Post a Comment
Read more

How Do Apple AirTags Work?

Apple AirTags have steadily gained popularity in the smart tag market. A recent report highlighted that 69% of smart tag buyers in late 2024 chose an Apple AirTag. This marks a significant rise from 45% in early 2022. In contrast, Tile, the category pioneer now owned by Life360, has seen its market share fall to 11% from 17% during the same period. Samsung's Galaxy SmartTags now hold second place. Interestingly, the technology behind AirTags resembles concepts like Opportunity Driven Multiple Access (ODMA) or Multihop Cellular Networks (MCNs), which I have previously explored . A similar approach has also been discussed regarding Bluetooth-based Ad-Hoc networks . How Do They Work? AirTags primarily use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with nearby Apple devices that are part of the Find My network. This vast network consists of millions of Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs, which can detect AirTags and securely relay their location back to the owner. Addit...
Post a Comment
Read more