Mobile internet usage in the region has been favored by the implementation of consumer-friendly policies like the elimination of extra roaming charges across the EU, as well as considerable investments to improve mobile connectivity networks. While 4G mobile connections are still expected to account for approximately 51 percent of mobile connections in Europe in 2025, the costs for 5G enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) deployments in the region surpassed 44 billion euros in 2021. According to an analysis conducted in 2021, the market size for sixth-generation wireless connections (6G) in Europe will be 216 million U.S. dollars by the end of 2028.
Mobile internet users in numbers
Mobile internet users in Central and Western Europe were estimated to reach over 280 million by the end of 2022, an increase of more than 16 percent compared to the 241 million users the region was registering in 2018. By comparison, the number of mobile internet users in Southern Europe is expected to increase by 22 percent in the same period. Mobile internet in Northern Europe is expected to reach more than over 92 percent of the region’s population in 2027, as mobile internet users in the region are forecasted to increase by 17 percent between 2018 and 2027. In the same period, Eastern Europe is projected to have the fastest-growing mobile digital population, going from 135 million to 208.5 million users, up by 54.4 percent.Mobile activities and smartphone usage
The possibility to access communication and social interactions on the go is one of the key features of having access to mobile internet. Engagement levels on mobile social apps in Europe experienced a sudden increase between 2019 and 2020, as a secondary consequence of the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the slowly normalizing global conditions, European users were still spending over one hour daily on social media applications in 2021.Social and communication app categories appear to be among the most used mobile internet services in many of the region’s markets, presenting high engagement rates in several European countries. In 2021, approximately 96 percent of users from the Benelux region reported accessing social media from their mobile devices. While browsing social media and keeping in contact with friends and family was one of the most popular activities for users in the region, mobile shopping was also an increasingly common activity for many European consumers. Almost eight in 10 German women and seven in 10 men reported buying products on their smartphones, respectively. Additionally, e-commerce apps were the most popular category for users in Romania in 2021.