Mobile technologies and services are projected to contribute $1.4 trillion to the Asia Pacific economy by 2030, a 40 percent increase from the US$1 trillion generated today, according to the GSMA’s new Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2026 report revealed on Thursday.
The report finds that the next phase of digital growth will be shaped not only by connectivity, but by how governments, operators and technology providers respond to four converging priorities: the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), declining digital trust, demand for more resilient digital infrastructure, and growing interest in digital sovereignty.
Other key findings from the Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2026 includes 5G connections are forecast to reach 1.5 billion by 2030, representing 50 percent of all mobile connections in Asia Pacific; operators are expected to invest more than US$200 billion in capital expenditure between 2025 and 2030; the mobile ecosystem supported 18 million jobs across the region in 2025; more than 700 million adults remain offline despite being covered by mobile broadband networks.
The findings come at a time when governments across Asia Pacific are grappling with rising online fraud, growing demand for AI infrastructure, intensifying geopolitical uncertainty and increasing expectations around digital sovereignty.
The report also highlights the growing importance of digital sovereignty across Asia Pacific. Governments and industry are increasingly investing in local AI infrastructure, trusted cloud services, secure data environments and digital capabilities that support national priorities while maintaining openness, innovation and cross-border collaboration.
“The mobile industry is playing an increasingly important role in shaping Asia Pacific’s digital future. As this report shows, economies and societies across the region are becoming increasingly digital, with mobile networks serving as the foundation for AI adoption, digital trust and resilient digital infrastructure,
“As governments place greater emphasis on digital sovereignty and citizens expect stronger protection from scams, fraud and cyber threats, the responsibilities placed on our industry continue to grow,” said Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA.
The report also finds that 5G, AI and IoT will deliver significant productivity gains across Asia Pacific, particularly in manufacturing and services, which together are expected to account for more than half of the economic benefits generated by advanced mobile technologies.
Mobile operators are increasingly expanding their role beyond connectivity to provide AI infrastructure, cloud services and enterprise solutions that support innovation across the economy.
As digital services become more deeply embedded in everyday life, maintaining trust in the digital ecosystem is becoming increasingly important.
The report finds that the proportion of consumers reporting they have been scammed in ASEAN increased from 31 percent in 2024 to 45% in 2025, underscoring the growing urgency of tackling fraud and strengthening online safety.
Operators are responding by investing in security, fraud prevention and cross-sector collaboration to protect consumers and businesses.
The report also highlights growing interest in digital sovereignty as governments across Asia Pacific seek to strengthen national digital capabilities, support trusted AI development and ensure that critical digital infrastructure can meet local economic and security needs.
Operators are increasingly playing a role through investments in cloud infrastructure, AI platforms, secure data environments and trusted digital services.
The report also reveals how resilience is becoming a defining feature of digital infrastructure. Climate-related disruptions, geopolitical tensions, supply chain risks and increasing dependence on digital services are driving greater focus on ensuring networks remain reliable, secure and available during periods of disruption.
Governments and industry are increasingly working together to strengthen resilience across critical communications infrastructure.
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