A.T. Kearney: Mobile industry grows to 1.9 trillion

The global mobile industry will grow from $1.5 trillion dollars in 2011 to $1.9 trillion in 2015. Today, more than 8 million people around the world are employed by companies in the mobile ecosystem, and by the end of 2015, mobile industry jobs will grow to approximately 10 million. This is evident from a research by A.T. Kearney in cooperation with GSMA Wireless Intelligence.

GSMA unites nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators and represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide. GSMA also organises important events such as the Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Expo.

Important economic driver

The research also demonstrates that the mobile industry has a positive and long-term economic benefit on economies. Over the next four years the mobile industry will invest $793 billion in capital and contribute $2.7 trillion to public funding across the globe. Beyond the global economic impact, mobile is a significant factor in the growth of local economies. According to the World Bank, a 10% increase in mobile penetration drives a 0.6% increase in a developed country's GDP and a 0.81% increase a developing country's GDP.

In low-to-middle income countries, a 10% increase in Mobile Broadband penetration yields a 1.4% increase in GDP. “Mobile technology is transforming industries, such as education, healthcare, payments and transactions, transportation and utilities. Mobile technology is connecting the world as no other technology has before”, thus Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA.

Focus areas

In the report the A.T. Kearney consultants highlight three key focus areas for mobile operators:
(1) Making continued significant investments in Mobile Broadband and LTE technologies to connect the world's population to the Internet.
(2) Accelerating the adoption of embedded mobile technology to create the “Connected Life”.
(3) Driving the development and adoption mCommerce.