Forecast: 5G to drive APAC mobile services market
April 7, 2026
The total mobile communication services revenue in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region is predicted to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.3 per cent from $310.6 billion (€268.4bn) in 2025 to $347.3 billion in 2030, driven by the steady growth in mobile subscribers, especially led by 5G subscriptions, as operators continue to roll out and expand their 5G networks, reports GlobalData, the intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s Asia-Pacific Mobile Broadband Forecast (Q4 2025) reveals that mobile data services will remain the largest revenue contributing segment to the overall mobile services market in the region over the forecast period, primarily driven by the widespread expansion and increasing adoption of high-average revenue per user (ARPU) generating 5G services in the region.
Srikanth Vaidya, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, commented: “With most of the developed markets already achieving widespread 5G penetration, and emerging mobile service markets like Pakistan and Sri Lanka gearing up for full-scale 5G network rollouts this year, revenue growth for mobile data services will continue to remain strong through the forecast period.”
In Pakistan, operators Ufone, Jazz and China Mobile-owned Zong have all secured 5G licences during the spectrum auction held by the government on March 10th with the latter two especially wasting no time in launching their 5G services during the same month. Dialog and Mobitel in Sri Lanka have also commercially launched their 5G services and are expanding their 5G network across the country.
Government support for 5G expansion will also strengthen the mobile data services market in the region. Telecom regulatory bodies and governing authorities in Australia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan have launched national 5G strategies/action plans, outlining the vision and guidelines to establish 5G ecosystems and drive 5G coverage expansions.
Vaidya explained: “These action plans include supporting initiatives such as public sector investment in 5G applications, forums for industry-government collaboration, promotion of 5G led-technological innovations, and licence arrangements to enhance spectrum use and reuse.”
China will remain the largest 5G market in the world through the forecast period with 88 per cent of its mobile subscriptions to be on 5G network by 2030, primarily driven by the telco investments and efforts to expand 5G service coverage to rural areas and industrial parks, and boost 5G adoption.
Vaidya continued: “The average monthly data usage (excluding voice-only subscriptions) in the region is forecast to increase from 26.6GB in 2025 to 45.6GB in 2030, receiving a significant boost from 5G service launches and expansions across markets. Growing consumption of online video and social media content over smartphones, on the back of data-centric service plans offered by MNOs will also drive growth in mobile data usage levels through the forecast period.”
APAC has become the center of the technological race for 5G+ supremacy. South Korea, Japan, and China have gone beyond just the deployment of 5G, to the development of the wider 5G ecosystem, thereby supporting the manufacturing and IT industries in these countries and driving IoT/M2M opportunities.
Vaidya concluded: “While mobile data segment will continue with the growth trajectory, mobile voice service revenue will decline at a CAGR of 9.2 per cent over the forecast period, as consumers continue to migrate towards OTT/internet-based communication services.”