GSMA THRIVE NORTH AMERICA: Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA (pictured), tipped North America to be the first region in the world to have more than half of mobile connections using 5G, with the feat expected to be achieved by 2025.

Speaking during the first keynote session, Granryd said although the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic had impacted 5G adoption in the first half of 2020, this was likely a temporary blip.

Citing GSMA Intelligence predictions, he noted North America is expected to surpass 100 million 5G connections in 2022, an achievement driven by network investment and an increase in smartphone availability across a range of price points.

Among the main 5G opportunities as the world recovers from the pandemic is the “limitless” potential in the enterprise space, Granryd added.

By 2025, GSMA Intelligence expects the region to have a total of 426 million mobile connections.

Ethics
Echoing comments made at previous GSMA events, Granryd urged the mobile industry to continue to demonstrate “ethical leadership” by focusing on the impact on people and communities while running businesses profitably.

“The mobile industry has enabled advancement in equality, diversity, gender, health and financial inclusion,” he noted, but added there was still work to do.

“We must continue to invest and run the infrastructure, it’s what kept the world connected this year, but also be open to new partnerships and expand our supply chain. We must accelerate our commitment to the SDGs [the UN’s sustainable development goals] especially climate,” he added, stating “and we must never ever tolerate racism, hatred or social injustice.”