GSMA Highlights Priorities: 6G Development, AI Threats, and Digital Inclusion

Image: Illustrative image · GSMA MWC · Public domain · Source

The GSMA board prioritizes affordable smartphones, combating online fraud heightened by AI, and supporting 6G standards to expand global connectivity and trust.

At a recent board meeting in New Delhi, the GSMA outlined key priorities for the mobile industry focused on expanding connectivity and addressing emerging challenges. While 97% of the global population lives within mobile broadband coverage, some 3.4 billion people still lack mobile internet access, largely due to the high cost of devices. The GSMA highlighted that entry-level smartphones cost the equivalent of 44% of the average monthly income for the poorest 20% in low- and middle-income countries, severely limiting affordability.

To improve financial accessibility, the association suggests measures such as financing schemes, targeted tax reductions, and enhanced collaboration between device manufacturers and memory suppliers. Alongside affordability, the GSMA expressed serious concern about increasing online fraud and scams. It warned that despite efforts to improve network detection tools and cybersecurity, no single sector can combat these threats alone. AI-generated content and deepfakes exacerbate risks to consumers, public trust, and government goals, prompting a call for united industry action with concrete solutions against scams.

Investment in network infrastructure remains critical, with the GSMA projecting that mobile technologies will generate $6 trillion in economic value by 2025—about 6.4% of global GDP—rising to $11.3 trillion by 2030. Operators are expected to invest $1.2 trillion in capital expenditures from 2025 to 2030 to expand and upgrade networks. The GSMA anticipates that 57% of mobile connections worldwide will use 5G technology by the decade’s end.

Vivek Badrinath, GSMA’s Director-General, emphasized transitioning 5G growth into “meaningful value” to increase digital economy participation, stressing that this requires continued investment, favorable policies, and ecosystem-wide collaboration. The GSMA reaffirmed its support for global standards and harmonized spectrum use to facilitate 6G development. Notably, over 80% of the world’s population now lives in countries endorsing mobile use of the upper 6 GHz band, which could provide the 200 to 400 MHz channel widths anticipated as essential for 6G.

GSMA Chair Gopal Vittal underscored that working through global standards and cross-market cooperation will accelerate innovation and strengthen confidence and resilience as the industry progresses towards next-generation connectivity.