There’s a moment in the new GSMA report Spectrum Pricing and Renewals in Europe, when the argument snaps into focus: if Europe wants to stay relevant in the global digital economy, fixing spectrum policy isn’t optional — it’s urgent. And suddenly, the most unglamorous part of mobile infrastructure becomes a headline story.

Spectrum isn’t just a technical asset. It’s the oxygen of Europe’s digital future. And right now, that oxygen is being priced in ways that make operators struggle to breathe.

Europe Built the Early Mobile World — Now It’s Struggling to Keep Up

Europe once led every major mobile generation. In the 2G, 3G, and even early 4G eras, Europe was the market that other regions benchmarked against. But the 5G chapter looks very different — and not in Europe’s favour.

Operators have spent nearly €200 billion since 2019 building out 5G, covering 93% of the population. On paper, that’s impressive. But zoom in and the cracks appear:

• Operator-level coverage averages just 80%
• One in five operators covers less than 70%
• Many users still fall back to 4G far more than expected

And the real issue: Europe barely uses the version of 5G that actually unlocks new economic value. Only 2% of Europeans use 5G SA services today, compared with 77% in China and around a quarter in the United States – markets that see 5G as a tool for industrial policy, not just faster mobile broadband. With the Digital Networks Act in play, Europe has a timely opportunity to shift course.

If Europe feels stuck in 5G’s waiting room, this is why.

The Money Problem: High Spectrum Costs, Low Revenues, and Slow Networks

The report’s blunt assessment: Europe’s spectrum environment is undermining Europe’s networks.

Over the last decade:

• Spectrum costs as a share of operator revenue tripled to 8%
• Revenue per MHz per connection fell 54%
• Yet spectrum prices didn’t fall proportionally — in some cases, they rose
• And Europe’s ARPU remains far lower than other high-income regions

This creates the “vicious cycle” GSMA warns about:

1. Governments push for high auction revenue.
2. Operators spend heavily upfront → less money for network investment.
3. Slower rollout → slower adoption → lower revenue.
4. Lower revenue → even less investment capacity.
5. The cycle repeats — and Europe falls further behind.

The consequences show up in real-world performance. Europe now sits behind the GCC, China, North America and developed Asia-Pacific in both 5G speed and consistency. Even Brazil — a market with far lower income levels — delivers faster 5G median speeds than Europe due to less congested spectrum and more favourable deployment conditions.

That’s not just embarrassing — it’s economically dangerous.

Europe’s Mobile Revenue Is Shrinking Faster Than Anywhere Else

The GSMA data paints a clear picture: Europe’s mobile market is under intense financial pressure — and not because people are using less connectivity. In fact, the opposite is true.

Across every global region, average revenue per mobile connection has declined sharply between 2014 and 2024, but nowhere is the squeeze more visible than in Europe. The region’s ARPU fell from €19.74 to €13.31 — a 33% drop, matching global declines but hitting European operators harder because they already operate on thinner margins.

North America still earns far more per user, even after a 29% decline. Meanwhile, markets like Latin America (-41%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (-39%) saw even steeper proportional declines, but their absolute ARPU levels remain much lower. Europe sits at an uncomfortable midpoint: not cheap enough to operate like emerging markets, but not profitable enough to match the investment cycles of its high-income peers.

Europe’s Revenue per GB Has Collapsed — 94% in Just Eight Years

If you want one chart that explains the stress on European telecom economics, it’s the second one.

Since 2016, the average revenue per GB in Europe has dropped from €14.03 to just €0.82 — a staggering 94% collapse. This isn’t a sign of failure; it’s a sign of progress without corresponding policy support. Networks became vastly more efficient, consumers used dramatically more data, and competition kept prices low. But the regulatory and spectrum-cost structures never adapted.

The result: operators deliver exponentially more value to users… for a fraction of the revenue.

This is exactly why the GSMA argues that today’s spectrum pricing no longer reflects the real market value of spectrum — because the revenue it can generate has changed entirely.

The €200 Billion Era: Europe’s Connectivity Gap Is Now a Spectrum Policy Problem

The final infographic captures the core tension of Europe’s telecom landscape.

• €200 billion invested by operators since 2019
• €110 billion paid in spectrum fees since 2014
• 8% of operator revenue consumed by spectrum costs in 2024
• 500+ licences set to expire between 2025–2035
• €30 billion that could be saved with low-cost renewals
• €75 billion potential GDP uplift
• Up to 23% faster network speeds possible with fairer renewal policies

These aren’t abstract numbers — they’re the economic boundaries shaping Europe’s 5G and future 6G competitiveness.

The message from the GSMA is blunt: Europe has reached a turning point. Operators are investing heavily, but the combination of high spectrum fees, fragmented auctions and declining per-user revenue has created a structural imbalance. Without policy changes, Europe cannot sustain the investment levels required for 5G SA, industrial digitalisation or future 6G innovation.

But the opportunity is just as big as the challenge.
The 2025–2035 renewal window is Europe’s chance to reset.

The €30 Billion Opportunity: Europe Can Break the Cycle — If It Wants To

Here’s the plot twist: Europe is standing at the perfect moment to reverse course.

More than 500 spectrum licences expire between 2025 and 2035. That’s a once-in-a-generation reset button. If Europe renews them the old way — at high cost — operators will spend €104 billion on spectrum over the next decade.

But if policymakers shift to low-cost or free administrative renewals, European operators could save up to €30 billion — enough to fund full 5G Standalone upgrades across the continent.

And the economic upside is not trivial:

• Network speeds could rise by up to 23%
• Europe’s GDP could grow by up to €75 billion by 2035

Even under the “low-cost” scenario, operators still pay €75 billion due to existing fees and renewals — so the idea isn’t charity. It’s a policy that aligns spectrum prices with the spectrum’s actual economic value today.

Given that revenue per GB has collapsed by 94% since 2016, the value operators can extract from spectrum simply isn’t what it used to be. Regulating spectrum like it’s still 2010 is a recipe for stagnation.

Europe’s Next Bottleneck: Not Enough Mid-Band Spectrum for 6G

If Europe wants to be competitive in 2030, it needs 2 GHz of mid-band spectrum for 5G and early 6G. Today, it has roughly half that. Leading markets — China, the US, India — already have pathways to reach these targets.

Europe’s options are clear:

• Assign the upper 6 GHz band for licensed 5G/6G
• Open 3.8–4.2 GHz for high-power mobile use
• Prepare the 4.5 GHz and 7–8 GHz ranges for the 2030s

Restricting supply — something Europe has done before — only drives auction prices up, inflates operator costs, and slows network rollout. GSMA calls this out explicitly: scarcity is self-sabotage.

What Needs to Change — and Fast

The report offers a refreshingly pragmatic playbook:

• Renew licences automatically and early
• Shift to long-duration or indefinite licences
• Avoid set-asides that distort auctions
• Allow spectrum trading to fix imbalances naturally
• Keep reserve prices modest and auctions simple
• Guarantee operators access to the full 2 GHz mid-band target

These recommendations echo the Draghi and Letta reports on Europe’s competitiveness, which warn that telecom underinvestment is directly blocking Europe’s digital transformation.

This isn’t just a mobile policy conversation anymore — it’s an economic one.

Conclusion: Europe Doesn’t Have a 5G Problem — It Has a Policy Problem

When you compare spectrum policies across global leaders, a pattern emerges.

China: low-cost, long-term licences aligned with industrial goals.
GCC states: spectrum policy fully integrated with national digital strategies.
US: rapid clearing, aggressive band planning, incentives for private investment.
Asia-Pacific (Korea, Japan): spectrum managed as a long-term innovation asset.

Europe? A patchwork of 27+ markets, fragmented auctions, high fees, short licences and a political tendency to treat spectrum revenue as a budgetary victory — even when it slows the digital economy.

So the GSMA report’s real message is simple:

Europe must stop taxing spectrum like a luxury and start stewarding it like infrastructure.

If policymakers use the next decade of renewals to reset the model — lowering costs, boosting certainty, expanding mid-band supply — Europe can absolutely reclaim its place among global connectivity leaders. spectrum pricing Europe

If they don’t, Europe risks entering the 6G era already behind, with even less room to catch up.

And in a world where digital competitiveness shapes geopolitical power, industrial output, AI capability, travel, logistics and national productivity, falling behind isn’t just bad telecom policy.

It’s a strategic mistake.