In our 2020 telecommunications industry report, we explore the huge impact that COVID-19 has had on global communication trends and the opportunities for 5G to grow and develop in the year ahead. To grow revenue and improve services in a low-growth economic environment, mobile operators are seeking new ways to develop the mobile ecosystem.
In 2020, 7.9 billion mobile connections are forecasted to increase to 8.6 billion by 2025. As of the second half of 2020, 5G networks became commercially available throughout 39 countries from 87 different mobile operators.
This report takes a look at the changing telecommunications landscape across different parts of the world: Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, the UAE, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, and the USA.
How COVID-19 Impacted the Telecommunications Industry
For 2020 and beyond, the 5G-connected world can no longer just be about the newest frontier technologies. Digital transformation is the best way forward to alleviate the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout our telecommunications industry report, we have included examples of how mobile operators and platform developers have helped people, society, and governments to overcome the strains of this global health crisis. There is also data included that demonstrates the dramatic shifts in consumer behavior as a result of lockdowns occurring across the world.
The massive data traffic growth observed by companies across different industries displayed an increased reliance on connectivity and digital services. Changes in demand through accelerated channel shifts mean digital capabilities need to be enhanced and leveraged now more than ever.
Learn more about how mobile operators, technology vendors, and enterprises can develop digital-first strategies to deal with a difficult time ahead. As the world continues to adjust to the New Normal, implementing new workplace and business practices will ensure further agility and resilience for future challenges.
The Progress of Implementing 5G Networks Across the World
To deal with a world full of uncertainty, 5G network infrastructure has to be continually developed to be resilient and adaptable to consumers’ growing network demands. Beyond increasing mobile broadband capacity for consumers, mobile operators are targeting enterprises for 5G applications in industries like manufacturing.
The following infographics and data are present in the roundup:
- The impact of COVID-19 on 5G plans worldwide
- 5G Network World Map
- Worldwide 5G mobile connections forecast for 2021
- Top IoT solutions for Industry 4.0 supported by 5G
- Mobile subscriber growth by 2025
- Mobile internet connectivity as of 2020
- The rise of Unified-Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS)
Many enterprises will rely on 5G’s ability to enable edge computing for their business applications and low latency, high-volume communications for connected devices. As more people come to truly understand 5G’s capabilities for an ever-changing world, we can expect to see an increasing number of next-gen solutions based on 5G.
How Consumer Behavior Has Shifted Due to Global Lockdowns
The number of mobile connections increased to approximately 7.9 billion in Q1 2020, compared to 5.2 billion at the end of 2019. The massive shift from offline to online caused by physical distancing measures has led people to find ways to cope with the pandemic and the New Normal.
We also cover the growth of social media, streaming services usage, and mobile gaming in our telecommunications industry report. The proportion of consumers that are turning to their mobile phones for relief is a major influence in today’s digital consumerism trends that is worth covering, especially within the context of these complicated times.
Read Forest Interactive’s Telecommunications Industry Report Now
Data presented in this report has been taken from public sources of information and aggregated data from GSMA Intelligence.
