GSMA Mobile Economy Report 2026: “Show me the money!”

Why does GSMA’s Mobile Economy Report 2026 lack its usual 5G coverage data? The answer may be that slow 5G SA adoption has pushed GSMA to focus on 5G monetisation.

Without doubt, GSMA is emphasising the case for operators to accelerate 5G standalone (SA) deployments. So, why isn’t GSMA talking about coverage in the report?

Why has GSMA gone quiet on 5G coverage?

The conversation is clearly being shifted onto 5G monetisation, and three possible reasons emerge:

Simply shouting about coverage isn’t compelling, and coverage doesn’t equal ROI.
Talking about greater ROI is compelling.
The 5G coverage race is over.

GSMA’s Director General opened his MWC Barcelona 2026 keynote speech by highlighting the ROI of 5G deployments. The argument is that deploying 5G SA could double revenues.

Similarly, the GSMA Mobile Economy Report 2026 focuses on 5G SA functionality and the rewards of combining it with AI. The report examines AI in wearable devices and enterprise; in other words, it’s about 5G commercialisation. In previous years, it’s all been about who has the most 5G.

Greater coverage doesn't equal greater ROI

Several reports, including GSMA’s Mobile Economy report and Ookla’s 5G SA and Advanced report, downplay the importance of coverage. Instead, they highlight the financial gains of functionality and end-to-end 5G optimisation.

However, is coverage really that unimportant, and if so, is the race over?

Who won the 5G coverage race?

In short, China won. Ookla’s 5G SA and 5G Advanced 2026 Report shows China’s 79% 5G SA coverage massively overshadows the USA’s 27.6%.

Several interconnected strategic advantages gave China first place in the coverage race. China’s success in deploying over 50% more 5G SA coverage than the USA is in part due to:

Government legislation
Government investment
Government administration.

By orchestrating the rollout, China’s government could align spectrum allocation and multi-operator network sharing agreements to fast-track deployment. In this situation, competitive market economics may not have helped the USA.

Why are operators not showing huge interest in 5G SA?

Another reason China raced ahead with 5G SA rollouts could be that they didn’t ask, “Does anyone want 5G standalone?”

Ookla’s 5G SA and 5G Advanced 2026 Report shows that mature VoLTE networks offer slightly faster Call Setup Times (CST) than VoNR. If standard coverage metrics such as CST don’t offer major differentiators, it will be difficult to move subscribers onto 5G contracts.

Source: Ookla 5G SA and 5G Advanced 2026 Report

Potentially, China has a lot of coverage that nobody needs.

Without clear monetisation opportunities, pragmatic operators in the US and Western Europe have been understandably sceptical about rushing 5G SA rollouts. In fact, Ookla’s report suggests that operators without the means to deploy 5G SA at scale may get better ROI from VoLTE optimisation.

Regarding 5GSA, this leaves operators undoubtedly shouting at GSMA to “Show me the money!”

Greater 5G SA coverage doesn’t equal greater 5G SA monetisation.

5G monetisation opportunities are growing, but there are barriers involved.

For example, GSMA’s report suggests wearable tech is surging and that integrations with AI will drive up data traffic. Unfortunately, a digital skills barrier means that most AI traffic is for basic cases.

Consumers aren’t skilled enough to drive AI and 5G functionality that increases price points. As a result, does not equal greater revenue.

In response to this knowledge, GSMA reports that operators are seeking greater partnership working to exploit economies of scope. Partnering with AI solutions providers, IT vendors, data centre and cloud providers, and hyperscalers enables operators to act as facilitators of consumer and enterprise digital transformation.

Integrating with partners along the value chain helps to secure operator market presence and access new revenue streams. However, more partnerships mean more complexity. Therefore, it’s understandable that Ookla is emphasising the need for 5G network optimisation to get the best returns on investment.

What does it mean for global telecoms?

China may have won the 5G scaling race, but there’s far more to play for with 5G scope opportunities.

RCR Wireless notes that China has shifted its focus to 5G monetisation. Arguably, their vastly greater coverage should enable them to massively outpace the rest of the world on monetisation. Unfortunately, both GSMA and Ookla highlight how 5G could hugely accelerate the global digital divide.

However, greater coverage doesn’t equal greater revenue.

China’s uniformity enabled faster coverage, but European and US competitive innovation could unlock greater revenue.

What is clear is that the conversation has changed from who has the most to who can make the most.