The mobile industry’s contribution to the Asia Pacific region’s economy will surpass $1 trillion by 2030 thanks in part to rapid 5G adoption rates, research by the GSMA predicted, with manufacturing and the financial technology sectors tipped to benefit most.

According to the GSMA Intelligence Mobile Economy APAC 2024 report, mobile technologies and services helped generate 5.3 per cent of the region’s GDP in 2023, a figure equivalent to $880 billion of economic value.

The contribution of mobile technologies to the region’s economy is expected to “outpace the global average” between 2023 and 2030.

Meanwhile, mobile internet users are forecast to reach 1.8 billion from 1.4 billion during the same period.

5G is tipped “to add almost $130 billion” to the APAC economy in 2030, with the manufacturing sector to reap the most benefit thanks to emerging use cases such as smart factories, smart grids and IoT-enabled products. Financial services and public services are also anticipated to be significant beneficiaries.

Commercial standalone (SA) 5G availability in India, Japan, Australia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand is predicted to boost the growth of mobile economy in those countries, alongside AI and new network technologies such as RedCap and 5G-Advanced.

This will pave the way for new 5G applications and “a fresh round of 5G investments” for businesses and general consumers, the report noted.

However, GSMA head of APAC Julian Gorman warned hundreds of millions of people in the region “are still missing out” from the benefits of mobile services.

“Addressing this usage gap and building online trust are crucial to closing this digital divide and ensuring everyone can benefit from the life-enhancing applications mobile can provide in area such as finance, education, and health,” Gorman added.