GSMA’s Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2025 report reveals that the mobile ecosystem supported 17 million jobs and generated more than US$90 billion in public funding (excluding spectrum and regulatory fees) last year. Yet, the report flags rising spectrum costs, a widening mobile usage gap, and an explosion in digital scams as emerging threats to continued progress.
Asia Pacific’s mobile technologies and services sector added US$950 billion ($1.21 trillion) to the regional GDP last year and is on track to hit US$1.4 trillion by 2030.
But without urgent policy reforms and smarter spectrum strategies, digital momentum across Southeast Asia risks stalling. That’s the warning from reports released this week by the GSMA and Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (LKYSPP), calling for a new era of regional coordination to unlock the full potential of 5G and artificial intelligence (AI).
