The GSMA report highlights the strategic role of mobile in Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and sovereign AI.
The report The Mobile Economy Europe 2026 shows that mobile continues to be a strategic driver of European competitiveness, contributing around €1.1 trillion to the EU economy in 2025, equivalent to 6.1% of GDP, while also having a significant impact in terms of employment and public revenues. However, the report stresses that Europe has reached a critical juncture: despite already supporting a very large base of mobile connections and users, the continent has yet to fully realise the potential of mobile as an infrastructure for innovation, resilience and growth, not least because of the substantial investment required, €475 billion, to bring Europe back into line with other leading regions in a hyper-competitive market environment. The report also devotes considerable attention to two issues that are now central to the sector, cybersecurity and sovereign AI. On the one hand, it shows that European operators are increasingly exposed to cyber threats that require investment in security and resilience. On the other, it underlines the potential role of operators in the development of sovereign cloud and AI services, building on their experience in managing critical infrastructure.
Author: GSMA
Publisher: GSMA
Publication date: June 2026