Mobile Market Report: Business Review Edition 2024

There are four distinct business areas in the current mobile communications market. Operators around the world are actively exploring and trying out new services and product launch models in these four areas.

The first area of ​​5G growth is to emphasize a more efficient version of 4G, namely enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB). It is the basis for the other 3 subsequent areas. It is monetized in much the same way as 4G, while taking advantage of the capabilities of 5G non-standalone networking (NSA). It improves the effectiveness and efficiency of network operations. Compared with 4G, it provides up to 10 times the capacity and improves energy efficiency by more than 30%, which can serve as a more efficient operation engine and bring a richer return on investment.

With the thriving device ecosystem and rapid growth in many markets, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) have become the focus of the second business area. These services target residential broadband and enterprise market segments and are a new source of value for operators, with higher ARPU than traditional mobile broadband services.

The third business area is differentiated connectivity solutions. Operators can provide private networks for enterprises or use the network slicing function of public 5G standalone (SA) networking to provide differentiated services to consumers or enterprises.

In various industries, 5G private networks are driving digital transformation, promoting innovation and creating value in micro-environments such as factories or mines. In the consumer and enterprise markets, operators can leverage public network functions and network slicing technologies to create new value, such as providing customized connectivity solutions for TV broadcasters, pop-up stores, audiences at large events, and gamers.

These use cases have not yet been industrialized globally due to the lack of a strong device ecosystem and ubiquitous, reliable, high-performance networks. Once these elements are in place, and the network is open and programmable, new value opportunities can be opened up and the innovation potential of application developers can be stimulated. This is the fourth business area.

This report collects the latest insights and findings from different operators, covering various activities in these 4 areas.