Mobile & tablets

by Alexander Sword| 16 January 2015

BCG report puts a value on the global mobile industry.

A new report commissioned by Qualcomm and conducted by The Boston Consulting Group claims that the economic value of mobile technology is up in the trillions of dollars.

The report showed that the industry generated revenues of almost $3.3 trillion worldwide in 2014 and is directly responsible for 11 million jobs.

Surveying 7500 consumers across six countries, including the developed economies of Germany, the United States and South Korea, and the emerging economies of Brazil, China and India, BCG found that the aggregate benefit that consumers receive from mobile technology over and above what they pay was $6.4 trillion.

The report also showed that consumers in developing economies valued mobiles at 40% of average income, while their counterparts in developed countries valued them at around 12%. Additionally, most users in China and Korea would rather give up home broadband than go without a mobile phone.

Meanwhile, a survey of SMEs found that those that adopt mobile technologies increase revenues up to twice as fast, and add jobs up to eight times faster, than their peers.

In the preface to the report, BCG commented: "Just as the rise of the Internet in the late 1990s was marked by explosive growth and aggressive innovation, the shift toward mobile is reshaping the economic landscape once again."

"Mobile is not just an industry in and of itself. It is also the foundation upon which an impressive array of industries -- new and old -- have taken root and flourished."

BCG included several recommendations for policy-makers to ensure that the benefits of mobile technology continued to be felt, suggesting they provide incentives through strong patent protection and market-driven licensing.

The consultancy also suggested that mobile providers would need to provide as much as $4 trillion by 2020 to ensure continued innovation and growth.

"Mobile has been a huge driver of economic growth -- creating jobs and improving consumers' lives," said David C. Michael, a San Francisco-based senior partner and a coauthor of the report. "But much more innovation is still needed. Policymakers have an important role to play in sustaining innovation and R&D investment in mobile technologies."