G與A

Intelligence

Thetelecomsindustryin2026:trendstowatch

DATE

January2026

?2026GSMAIntelligence

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobileecosystemtodiscover,

developanddeliverinnovationfoundationaltopositivebusinessenvironmentsandsocietalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothatpeople,industryandsocietythrive.Representingmobileoperatorsandorganisationsacrossthemobileecosystemandadjacentindustries,theGSMAdeliversforitsmembersacrossthreebroadpillars:ConnectivityforGood,IndustryServicesandSolutions,andOutreach.Thisactivityincludesadvancingpolicy,tacklingtodaysbiggest

societalchallenges,underpinningthetechnologyandinteroperabilitythatmakemobilework,andprovidingtheworldslargestplatformtoconvenethemobileecosystemattheMWCandM360seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

Authors

PabloIacopino

PeterJarich,

HeadofGSMAIntelligenceChristinaPatsioura

LeadAnalyst

AnshuGoelLeadAnalyst

HeadofResearchandCommercialContent

RadhikaGupta

HeadofDataAcquisitionCesarBachelet

LeadAnalyst

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesourceofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecasts,andpublisherofauthoritativeindustryreportsandresearch.Ourdatacoverseveryoperatorgroup,networkandMVNOineverycountryworldwidefromAfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemostaccurateandcompletesetofindustry

metricsavailable,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,updateddaily.

GSMAIntelligenceisreliedonbyleadingoperators,vendors,regulators,financialinstitutionsandthird-partyindustryplayers,tosupportstrategicdecision-makingandlong-terminvestmentplanning.Thedataisusedasanindustryreferencepointandisfrequentlycitedbythemediaandbytheindustryitself.

Ourteamofanalystsandexpertsproduceregularthought-leadingresearchreportsacrossarangeofindustrytopics.

info@

1

Contents

5Gandnetworktransformation

2Spectrum

3Fixedandpay-TVmarkets

4IoTandenterprisemarkets

5Digitalconsumer

4

1

2

3

4

5

5GandnetworktransformationFivetrendstowatchin2026

Beyond5G:ISACandpositioningwilldominate5G-Advancedand6Gmessagingasanextensionof5G-eraB2Bmonetisationstrategies.

NetworksforAI:AIasatoolfordrivingnetworkefficienciesandnetworkperformancewillremaintheprimaryfocusforoperators,butexpecttoseeprogressonsupportingandmonetisingAIusage.

Cloudfor(sovereign)AI:CloudandITtechnologieswillcaptureagrowingshareofoperatorinvestment,partlytokeepupwithAIdemandsandsovereignAIstrategies.

Cloudversusresilience:Sovereigncloudservicesandgeopoliticaltensionswillputnetworkresilienceatthetopofnetworkstrategyagendas,withimplicationsforcloudproviders.

OpenRAN:Progresswillcontinueatanincremental(ratherthanbreakthrough)pace,drivenbykeygeographiesandperformanceconcerns.

Intelligence

5

Intelligence

Beyond5G

ISACandpositioningwilldominate5G-Advancedand6Gmessagingasanextensionof5G-eraB2Bmonetisationstrategies.

Description

5G-Advancedand6Gmessagingbeganseveralyearsback,assupplierslookedtobuildinterestandplayuptheirexpertise.Evenso,momentumhasbeenlimited.Withmanyoperatorsstrugglingtomonetise5G,itisunclearthatthetidewillturnin2026.Regardless,asinitial5G-Advanceddeploymentsand6GR&Dprogrammesmoveforward,beyond-5Gtechnologieswillgarnerfurtherattention.

If5G-Advancedand6Garepositionedasanextensionoftoday’s5Gnetworks,itisonlynaturalthatbeyond-5GIoTenhancementswillcaptureoperatorinterest.IoTunderpinnedtheB2Bmonetisationstrategiesthathelpedmakethecasefor5Ginthefirstplace.Positioninginnovations,includingintegratedsensingandcommunications(ISAC)andaddedpositioningaccuracy,alignwithB2Bbusinessmodels.Asof2026,however,theyarebolsteredbyaninterestintrackingdevicesforsecuritypurposes.

Implications

?Operatorsmustlookatbeyond-5Gtechasanopportunityforserviceinnovation.Itisnevereasytoimaginecompletelynewservicetypesortargetmarkets.TheprioritisationofusecasesfocusedonRANimprovementsandIoTsuggestsaviewthattomorrow’sserviceswilllookalotliketoday’s.Failingtoexplorenewbusinessmodelsthatcouldbeenabledbynext-generationtechnologiescouldcedeopportunitiesto

competitors.

?TechnologysuppliersneedtodemonstrateISACand5G-Advancedpositioningmonetisationoptions.Bothtechnologieshavecapturedoperatorattention,butitisunclearhowtheywouldmonetisethem.Puttingasidethecostsinvolved(especiallyifmmWavedeploymentis

required),thebusinessmodelbywhichoperatorswouldbenefitisnascent.Networkequipmentpartnershaveanopportunitytostandoutbyshowcasingthevalueofthistechnologyandhowitcouldbeusedtogeneratereturns.

Intelligence

6

IoTandpositioningdominateoperators’focusforbeyond-5G

usecases,takingforwardtoday’sB2Baspirations

Topthreebeyond-5Gusecasesnotedbyoperators,byregion

AsiaPacific

Europe

LatinAmerica

MiddleEast&Africa

NorthAmerica

1.ISAC

1.AmbientIoT

1.AI-nativeairinterfaces

1.AmbientIoT

1.AI-nativeairinterfaces

2.AmbientIoT

2.AI-nativeairinterfaces

2.Positioningaccuracy

2.Positioningaccuracy

2.NTNintegration

3.Positioningaccuracy

3.Positioningaccuracy

3.Uplinkcapacity

3.ISAC/NTNintegration(tied)

3.RedCapIoT

Source:GSMAIntelligenceOperatorsinFocus:NetworkTransformationSurvey2026

7

Intelligence

NetworksforAI

AIasatoolfordrivingnetworkefficienciesandnetworkperformancewillremaintheprimaryfocusforoperators,butexpecttoseeprogressonsupportingandmonetisingAIusage.

Description

OperatorshavebeenputtingAItouseintheirnetworksforyears,whetherforplanning,energyefficiency,troubleshootingoroptimisation.DespiteallthepromiseofgenAI,thefocusonnetworkoperationsremains.ThemajorityofAIinitiativesannouncedin2025focusonoperations

improvementsandtwothirdsofoperatorsclaimnetworkoptimisationastheirprimaryAIusecase.

Yet,perennially,mostoperatorsalsoclaimthattheirnetworktransformationstrategiesprioritiserevenuegenerationovercost-cuttingorotherefficiencies.BuildingontheinterestshownatMWC25,AIcapacityinvestmentsandinitialcustomer-facingAIservices,operatorsaresettoincreasinglyusetheirnetworkstosupport(andmonetise)AI,particularlyastheybuildcommercialAIknow-how.

Implications

?OperatorsneedtounderstandAItrafficprofileswillbedifferenttootherformsoftraffic.Oneofthemostimportantwaysoperatorswill

leveragetheirnetworkstomonetiseAIisbysupportingAItrafficdemands.Thatmeanstheywillneedtounderstandthosedemands.Foryears,theprimarytrafficdynamicthatoperatorshavehadtocopewithissimplyagrowingmagnitudeof(increasinglyencrypted)traffic.However,AIwillbringnewdemands,includingthepotentialonslaughtofmanytransient,low-bandwidthagenticflowsandworkloadsthatneedtobedistributed

acrossdiversecloudlocations.

?HyperscalerscanbetruetelcoAIpartnersanddemonstratehowmonetisationcouldwork.Around60%ofoperatorsclaimlackofinternalexpertiseastheprimaryobstacletoAIdeployment.ThiswillimpacttheirabilitytomarrynetworkassetstocompellingAIoffers.Themajorpubliccloudprovidersalreadypossessanintimateunderstandingofcomplex(ifnascent)AIbusinessmodelsandfamiliaritywithtelconetwork

capabilities.DemonstratingpotentialsynergiesforoperatorscouldhelpsecurerelationshipsandpotentiallytakeashareoftelcoAIrevenues.

8

Intelligence

TelcoAImessagingcentresoncareandnetworkusecases

overnew(monetised)B2BandB2Cservices

Shareof2025operatorAIlaunchesandannouncementsbyusecase

Customercare

NetworkAI

Other

Businessoperations

Consumer

usecases

Data

Enterpriseusecases

Source:GSMAIntelligenceTelcoAItracker

9

Intelligence

Cloudfor(sovereign)AI

CloudandITtechnologieswillcaptureagrowingshareofoperatorinvestment,partlytokeepupwithAIdemandsandsovereignAIstrategies.

Description

ThetraditionalcompositionofmobilenetworksincludesRAN,core,transportandOSS/BSSassets.Thecloudificationoftelconetworkfunctionshasdonelittletochangethatmixbuthasalteredthewaytheyaredeployed(insoftwareversushardware)andwheretheyaredeployed(oncloudinfrastructureacrossdiverselocations).

Operatornetworktechnologyprioritiesreflectthis.CloudandITtechnologiescomeoutontop.AIinvestmentexpectationsalsoreflectthis,withdatacentre,publiccloudandedgecomputethetopthree.AssovereignAIandsovereigndigitalserviceinitiativesmoveforward,thispushforoperatorstoinvestincloud(versusrelyingsolelyonthirdparties)willnaturallyintensify.

Implications

?OperatorscannotignorecloudandITupskilling.OperatorsidentifyalackofinternalexpertiseasthedominantbarriertoAIdeploymentbyalargemargin.However,rollingoutAIsolutionsisalsoanITtaskofteninvokingcloudresourcesaswellasmoderndataarchitectures.ExecutingonAIopportunitieswillrequireoperatorstoupskillonAI/MLtechnologies.DoingsowithoutensuringthatcloudandITknow-howisinplace,

however,willcomplicatethedeliveryofAIprojects(whethersupportedinternallyoralongsidepartners),whilealsoaffectinganoperator’sabilitytorolloutmodernnetworkinfrastructuresolutionswhichareincreasinglycloudified.

?Publiccloudprovidersshouldworktoproveinteroperabilitywithcompetitors.Operatorsareincreasinglymovingworkloadstothepubliccloud.Whileoutagesmightsuggestresilienceisthetoppriority,nearlyfourtimesasmanyoperatorsbelievetheabilitytoswitchbetween

providersmattersmost.Thisdemandforflexibilityismostlikelyfocusedonlimitinglock-inandwoulddrivemoreintensecompetitionacross

cloudplayers.However,itwouldalsostrengthenresilienceprofiles(overall)whileencouragingbroaderpubliccloudadoptionacrosstheboardatatimewhenmanyoperatorsareplanninginvestmentintheirowncloudassets.

10

Intelligence

ComputeindiversecloudlocationsdrivesAIinvestment

TopnetworkinvestmentprioritiesamongoperatorstosupportcustomerAIusage

AsiaPacific

Europe

LatinAmerica

MiddleEast&Africa

NorthAmerica

1.Data-centrecapacity

1.Data-centrecapacity

1.Data-centrecapacity

1.Data-centrecapacity

1.Data-centrecapacity

2.Securityinfrastructure

2.Securityinfrastructure

2.Edgecompute

2.Publiccloud

2.Edgecompute

3.Publiccloud

3.Edgecompute

3.Databaseinfrastructure

3.Securityinfrastructure

3.Publiccloud

Source:GSMAIntelligenceOperatorsinFocus:NetworkTransformationSurvey2026

11

Intelligence

Cloudversusresilience

Sovereigncloudservicesandgeopoliticaltensionswillputnetworkresilienceatthetopofnetworkstrategyagendas,withimplicationsforcloudproviders.

Description

Alongwithspeedandcoverage,operatorshavelongtradedontheirabilitytodeliverreliableservices.GSMAIntelligenceworkhasevenidentifiedthatreliable5Gconnectivity–morethansupportforspecificusecases–isafeaturethatcouldhelpinreducingchurnwhilemonetising5Gbuilds.

Movingbeyondreliability,networkresilience(thecapacitytowithstandorrecoverfromchallenges)growsinimportanceascriticalservicesarebuiltontoday’snetworksandriskstonormalnetworkoperationsescalate.Sovereigndigitalserviceinitiatives(invokingcloudassetsandaccess

networks)aswellasanydigitalpublicinfrastructurethatreliesonmobilenetworksfallintotheformercategory,leveraging4G/5Gassets.Networkattacks,cloudoutagesandnaturaldisasters(allofwhichareontherise)fallintothelattercategory,representingriskstonetworkoperations.

Implications

?Operatorsmustmarryafocusonnetworkresiliencewithnetworkinvestmentsthatdeliveronit.Closebehindnetworksecurity,networkresilienceisatopnetworktransformationbusinesspriorityforoperators:96%rateitasveryorextremelyimportant.Giventhecurrentthreat

landscapeandtheattractionofsovereignservicesupport,thisisunderstandable.Yet,resiliencewillnotmaterialiseonitsown;itrequires

investmentsinspecificnetworkcapabilities.WhileoperatorsunderstandthevalueofcloudassetstotheiroverallnetworkandAIstrategies,theyneedtobemarriedtoinvestmentsindistributedcompute(forredundantworkloads),NTNcapacity(forredundantaccess)andevenslicing(forprioritisingcapacity)toholisticallydeliveronresiliencedemands.

?Cloudplayerscannotignoretheir(poor)resiliencereputation.Networkresiliencemaybeimportanttooperators,butarecentspateofhigh-profilecloudoutageshasnotpositionedhyperscalerswell.Aminorityofoperators(19%)claimresilienceimprovementswouldacceleratetheirworkwithpubliccloudproviders,possiblysincetheydonotseeresilienceimprovementsaslikely.Regardless,anycloudplayerwantingtobeapartnertooperatorsofferinghigh-value(includingsovereign)serviceswillneedtomakeresiliencecentraltotheirmessaging.

12

Intelligence

Resilienceisnotdrivingtelcodecisionsonpubliccloud,yet

Factorsthatwouldacceleratetelcoadoptionofpubliccloudservices(toptwofactors)

71%

Interoperabilityandabilitytoswitchbetweenproviders

49%

Local(in-market)cloudpresence

30%

Regulatorypressure

19%

Resilienceprofile

16%

AIsolutionsandsupport

15%

Flexiblefinancingoptions

Source:GSMAIntelligenceOperatorsinFocus:NetworkTransformationSurvey2026

13

Intelligence

OpenRAN

Progresswillcontinueatanincremental(ratherthanbreakthrough)pace,drivenbykeygeographiesandperformanceconcerns.

Description

In2019,theGSMAIntelligenceNetworkTransformationSurveyrevealed21%ofoperatorswereintheinitialphasesofdeployingopennetworkingtechnologies,includingopenRAN.Sixyearslater,theopenRANfigurewas22%.Thisvirtualstandstillisreflectedinheadlinesofscaledback

rollouts,delayedlaunchesandambitiousanalystforecaststhatfailedtocometrue.

Asof2026,manyoperatorsremaincommittedtothetechnology,particularlyinEuropeandAsiaPacificmarketsoutsideChina.TheywillcontinuetorolloutopenRANnetworksthanks,inpart,totheavailabilityofpre-integratedsolutionsandafocusonlong-termsupply-chaindiversity.

ConcernsoverthehealthoftheecosystemandopenRANsolutionsnotmatchingtheperformanceprofileoftraditionalRANwillputacapongrowth.

Implications

?OperatorsmustexplainwheretheyexpecttoseeopenRANperformanceimprovements.ThatopenRANsolutionsareseenasless

competitivethantraditionalRANisunsurprisinggiventhelifetimesumofR&Dforeachcamp.Thatsaid,thereisaveritable‘laundrylist’ofbuyingcriteriabywhichoperatorsevaluatesolutions,includingenergyefficiency,security,standardscompliance,management,spectrum

efficiency,capacityandspeeds.IfoperatorsfeelopenRANsolutionsarelacking,theyneedtobeclearwhichareasneedmostimprovement,allowingtheecosystem(includingopenRANvendorsandcompetitors)tobestmeettheirneeds.

?Networkinfrastructuresuppliersmustbeginplanningfor“open”aspartof6G.Asweinchclosertothearrivalof6G,suppliersneedto

evaluatehowtheywillintegrateopennetworkingtechnologies.Operatorsexpect6Gtobeopen,butthatdoesnotnecessarilyimplyopenRAN.FromcoreAPIstoO&MsystemsandagenticAI,therearemanydynamicstobeingopenthat6Gwillneedtoembrace.With6Gmessagingandinvestigationslikelytorampupin2026,vendorsneedtohaveaclearandcompellingnarrative.

14

Intelligence

AsiaPacificandEuropeanoperatorsaredrivinginterestinopenRAN

Percentageofoperatorsratingopennetworkingtechnologiesasaveryorextremelyimportantnetworktechnologypriority

70%

65%

60%

55%

50%

45%

40%

35%

30%

AsiaPacificEuropeLatinAmericaMiddleEast&AfricaNorthAmerica

Source:GSMAIntelligenceOperatorsinFocus:NetworkTransformationSurvey2026

1

Contents

5Gandnetworktransformation

2Spectrum

3Fixedandpay-TVmarkets

4IoTandenterprisemarkets

5Digitalconsumer

Intelligence

16

Spectrum

1

2

3

4

5

Fivetrendstowatchin2026

Networksunsets:Thepaceof2G/3Gnetworkshutdownswillalignwiththenextwaveof5Gdeployments

Spectrumlicences:Renewalsoflicencesinlegacyspectrumbandswillbolsteroperatorspectrumportfolios

Spectrumpricing:Evolvingpricingmechanismsandnationalconnectivitygoalswillinfluencepricingdecisions

6GHz:IMTidentificationwillaccelerateglobaluptake,helpingdriveecosystemreadiness

D2D:Momentumwillaccelerateinmobilesatelliteservicebandstosupportdirect-to-deviceconnectivity

17

Intelligence

Networksunsets

Thepaceof2G/3Gnetworkshutdownswillalignwiththenextwaveof5Gdeployments

Description

Theadventof5Ghasbeenamajorinflectionpointfortheaccelerationofnetworksunsets;globally,52%ofoperatorswithalive5Gservicehaveeitherannouncedorcompleteda2Gor3Gnetworkshutdown.As5Gdeploymentshaveexpandedrapidlyoverthepastfewyears,network

sunsetshavefollowedasimilartrajectory.However,with5Gnowlaunchedby375operatorsglobally,thepaceofnew5Gnetworklauncheshasslowed,andasimilarmoderationinnetworksunsetsisexpected.Thenextwaveofactivityislikelytooccuraround2027–2028,drivenby

forthcoming5GnetworklaunchesinAfricanandislandnations.

Implications

?Operatorsshouldplannetworksunsetsthoroughly.Operatorsshouldrecognisethatnetworksunsetsarenotasingleswitch-offeventbutratheragradual,multi-yeartransitionthatrequiresearlyandstructuredplanning.Itisimperativetodevelopaclearsunsetroadmapwellbeforetheneedarisesforactualshutdown.Timelyactionisessentialtomanagedependencieslinkedtoenterpriseandmission-criticalservices,whichfrequentlydelayshutdowns,suchase-callservicesinEurope.

?Regulatorsshouldprovideguidingpoliciesandframeworks.Regulatorguidanceandframeworkscangiveoperatorsthecertaintyrequiredforlong-termplanning.Regulatorsshouldalsoworkcloselywithoperatorstounderstandtransitionchallenges,ensurerealistictimeframesandestablishsupportiveframeworksthatallowspectrumtoberefarmedefficientlywhilesafeguardingcontinuityforcriticalservices.

?IoTadoptersshouldplanforpotentialservicediscontinuations.Inadditiontoplanningforservicediscontinuations,IoTadoptersmust

accountforscheduledlegacynetworkshutdownsaspartoftheirlong-termbusinessstrategy.TheyshouldworkcloselytogetherwithoperatorsandIoTMVNOproviderstostayinformedonthestatusofcellularIoTnetworksandthesupportedtechnologiesbyindividualoperatorsandIoTMVNOpartners.ThiswillhelpwithdesigningtheirIoTdeploymentsandensureaseamlesstransitioninthecaseofnetworkshutdown.

18

Intelligence

5Gasacatalystfornetworksunsets

Mobileoperatorslaunching5Gnetworksandsunsetting2G/3Gnetworks

55%

37%

16%

57%

42%

7%

52%

74%

375

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

126

83

514537

1914

EuropeAsiaPacificLatinAmericaSub-Saharan

Africa

MiddleEastand

NorthAfrica

NorthAmericaEurasiaGlobal

Numberofoperatorswithlive5Gandacompletedorannouncednetwork

sunset

Numberofoperatorswithlive5Gbutnocompletedorannouncednetwork

sunset

Shareofoperatorswithlive5Gthathavecompletedorannounceda

networksunset

Source:GSMAIntelligence

19

Intelligence

Spectrumlicences

Renewalsoflicencesinlegacyspectrumbandswillbolsteroperatorspectrumportfolios

Description

Spectrumlicencesin43marketsaresettoexpirein2026,withEuropeaccountingforthelargestshareofthis,followedbyAsiaPacific,Latin

AmericaandtheMiddleEastandNorthAfrica.Mostofthelicencesapproachingexpiryareinthe900,1800and2100MHzbands,whichare

globallyharmonisedfor2Gand3Gnetworksandhavelongprovidedoperatorswithagoodbalanceofcoverageandcapacity.Thesearealsothebandsmostcommonlyrefarmedduring2Gand3Gnetworksunsets,reflectingtheirstrongecosystemsupportandsuitabilityfor4Gand5G

migration.Astheselicencesnearexpiry,ensuringtimelyrenewalsonatechnology-neutralbasiswillbeessentialtoensureservicecontinuityandwillallowoperatorstostrengthenandoptimisetheirspectrumportfolios.

Implications

?Operatorsshouldproactivelyassesshowupcominglicenceexpiriesalignwiththeirlong-termspectrumrequirements.Renewalsinthe900,1800and2100MHzbandspresentanopportunitytooptimisespectrumportfoliosandensureadequatecapacityforevolving4Gand5G

requirements.Tomaximiseoutcomes,operatorsshouldengageearlywithregulatorstoarticulatetheirrequirements.Theyshouldalsopreparerobustrefarminganddeploymentstrategiestoensureseamlesscontinuityofservice.

?Regulatorsshouldfollowtransparentprocesses.Regulatorsshouldensurethatupcominglicenceexpiriesinthesebandsaremanaged

throughatransparentprocesswhileprovidingoperatorswithclearrenewaltimelinestosupportlong-terminvestmentplanning.Theyshouldalsorenewtheselicencesonatechnology-neutralbasis,enablingoperatorstomigrateorrefarmspectrumefficiently.Giventheessentialroleofthe

900,1800and2100MHzbandsinsupportingnationwidecoverageandmeeting4Gand5Grequirements,timelyandpredictablerenewalsarecritical.Regulatorscanalsoconsiderinnovativerenewalmechanismsthatbalanceconnectivityobjectiveswithaffordability,drawingonexampleswherecountrieshaveofferedextensionsorrenewalsatnoadditionalcost.

Intelligence

20

Majorityofspectrumexpirationsin2026willbeinkey2G/3G

bands

Numberofupcomingspectrumexpirationsbybandandregion*

Region

450

MHz

800

MHz

850

MHz

900

MHz

1700/

2100

MHz

1800

MHz

1900

MHz

2100

MHz

2300

MHz

2600

MHz

3500

MHz

26

GHz

Total

Europe

-

1

-

7

-

6

1

7

-

3

2

1

28

AsiaPacific

1

-

2

3

-

3

-

4

1

2

-

-

16

LatinAmerica

-

-

5

1

2

2

2

2

-

-

1

-

15

MENA

-

-

-

4

-

4

-

4

1

-

-

-

13

Sub-SaharanAfrica

-

-

-

2

-

2

-

3

-

-

1

-

8

Eurasia

-

-

-

1

-

1

-

1

-

1

1

-

5

Total

1

1

7

18

2

18

3

21

2

6

5

1

85

*Eachcountrepresentsamarketwhereabandisabouttoexpirebytheendof2026.Amarketiscountedtwiceifthespectrumisexpiringacrosstwobands.

Source:GSMAIntelligence

21

Intelligence

Spectrumpricing

Evolvingpricingmechanismsandnationalconnectivitygoalswillinfluencepricingdecisions

Description

Connectivityisacornerstoneofeverynation’sdigitalambitions,whichispromptinggovernmentsandregulatorstoadoptinnovativespectrumpricingandlicensingapproachesthatencourageinvestmentinconnectivityandcoverage,particularlyinunderservedanduncoveredareas.

Severalcountrieshaverenewedorextendedlicencesatzerocostorattachedcoverageandconnectivityrequirementsactingasspectrumfeesinassignmentprocesseswhilereducingtheburdenofupfrontorannualspectrumfees(includingCostaRica,NewZealandandTanzania).This

reflectsabroadershifttowardsaligningpricingwithnationalconnectivityobjectives,contributingtothegradualdeclineinglobalunitspectrumprices.Weexpectthistrendtocontinuein2026andbeyondasnationwideconnectivitygoalsincreasinglyinfluencespectrumpricingdecisions.

Implications

?Operatorsshouldevaluatehowevolvingspectrumpricingframeworksinfluencetheirlong-terminvestmentplanningandcoverage

strategies.AshighlightedinaGSMA

report

,althoughper-unitspectrumpricesdecreasedworldwidebetween2014and2024,revenueperMHzforoperatorsdeclinedfaster,by67%,inthesameperiod,reducingtheoverallvaluederivedfromspectrum.Asnewpricingmechanisms

increasinglyreplacespectrumpaymentswithcoverageorquality-of-servicecommitments,operatorsshouldcarefullyassessthefeasibilityofmeetingsuchobligationsbeforecommitting.Cleardeploymentandcoverageplansremainessentialtoensurecommitmentsarerealisticandtoavoidpenaltiesorputtingoperators’spectrumlicencesatrisk.

?Regulatorsshouldalignspectrumpricingwithcurrentmarketrealities.Thisincludesensuringpricesreflectthedecliningvaluethat

operatorsgeneratefromeachMHzofspectrum.Thespectrum-cost-to-revenueratiofortelecomsoperatorsincreasedby63%between2014and2024;therefore,administrativelysetpricesandauctionreservelevelsshouldnotbeanchoredtohistoricalbenchmarks,asthesenolonger

representdomesticmarketconditions.Regulatorsshouldalsoaccountforthecostofmeetinganyobligationsattachedtolicences.

22

Intelligence

last10years

AveragemonthlyrecurringrevenueperMHzperconnection(inflation-adjusted)

RevenueearnedperMHzhasdeclinedbytwothirdsinthe

-67%

$0.37

$0.32

$0.28

$0.26

$0.20

$0.18

$0.17

$0.12

$0.15$0.13$0.13

20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024

Note:DatashowsweightedaveragerevenueperMHz,perconnectionofcountriesintheregion,wheredatacouldbecollected.2023USDprices.

Source:

GlobalSpectrumPricing

,GSMA,2025

23

Intelligence

6GHz

IMTidentificationwillaccelerateglobaluptake,helpingdriveecosystemreadiness

Description

FollowingtheWorldRadiocommunicationConference2023(WRC-23)decisionontheupperpartofthe6GHzband(6425–7125MHz)forIMTuse,countriesrepresentingmorethan80%oftheglobalpopulationhaveeitheridentifiedorannouncedplanstoupdatetheirnationaltableof

allocationstoincludeupperpartof6GHzforIMTservices.HongKongbecamethefirstmarketgloballytoassignspectruminthe6GHzbandinearly2025.IntheEU,thelatestopinionoftheRadioSpectrumPolicyGroup(RSPG)–earmarking665or700MHzofspectru