Mobile industry continues to close digital divide and accelerate global impact across all SDGs, GSMA report

GSMA published the fifth edition of its Mobile Industry Impact Report, which examines the increased impact the mobile industry has had on achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) over the last year and what could be accomplished over the next ten years. The report also has a special focus on the role of the mobile industry during the COVID-19 crisis. The report argues that operators managed to achieve positive global impacts due to their collaboration with governments and other partners. Additionally, it pinpoints specific calls for action for each SDG that vary between enhancing digital literacy skills for women and girls to reducing gender inequality to licensing sufficient and affordable spectrums in order to spur the building of resilient infrastructure. The report provides some statistics to demonstrate the contribution of the mobile industry to economic and social development. For example, between 2015 and 2019, the mobile industry has increased its impact on each of the 17 SDGs annually, increasing from 33% to 48%. Moreover, since 2015, mobile connectivity has contributed to $360 billion in global GDP growth, or 4% of overall GDP growth. In the same timeframe, the industry has increased global employment by approximately 5 million; by 2019, it supported roughly 30 million jobs. The use of mobile technology has also powered a global reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that is 10 times greater than the global carbon footprint of the mobile industry itself.