Network Transformation 2025

Innovation in the evolved 5G era

Midway through the 5G era, operators face a growing set of network transformation imperatives. The priorities (familiar to anyone in the mobile ecosystem) include emerging technologies and those that have been deployed for years: 5G standalone and 5G Advanced; open networking technologies; network slicing and edge networking; public cloud and network automation; artificial Intelligence; non-terrestrial networks; spectrum management technologies; and 6G.

To understand how operators are balancing these competing demands, GSMA Intelligence surveyed 100 telcos from around the world, gaining insights into their deployment plans and challenges, where they plan to invest, how they see the value of new technologies, and what they think is needed to meet end-user demand.

As we move into 2025, this year’s survey includes some of the biggest changes in operator thinking, in line with the emergence of new priorities. As operators roll out the networks and capabilities that drive the ecosystem, anyone competing in mobile needs to understand these dynamics and how they can profit from them.