has grown explosively since the 1990s. 950,000 were counted in the country in 1992, then 59.13 million 10 years later, and in 2023, 185 million mobile connections were registered. The figures are based on the number of SIM cards being used, with mobile phone subscription contracts included, prepaid connections and SIM cards for M2M communication (between machines). The leading telecommunications providers in Germany are
, Vodafone Germany and Telefonica Germany, though they are by no means the only ones used by consumers. Of these three providers, Deutsche Telekom recorded the
The future of smartphones
Perhaps nowadays it is hard to imagine a home without at least one mobile phone in it.
Smartphone sales generated around 11.82 billion euros in revenue in 2024. Annual figures remained similar in recent years. With
smartphone user numbers only growing, the topic of 5G is attracting more and more attention. Mobile communication providers eager to pounce and recruit new customers (or keep existing ones for longer) by being able to offer them more. 5G is a cellular network system for mobile broadband connection with promises of faster connection speed. This is increasingly relevant, as the volume of data exchanged between devices only increases. Remote working amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as continued general reliance on mobile communication services have additionally underlined the necessity of 5G implementation, though it is taking time. Estimates for 2025 predict
73 million 5G connections in Germany. Although this is fewer than in China, the U.S., and Japan, it is the highest out of any European country.
Mobile internet
Compared to some other countries around the world, Germany is further down the list regarding the
mobile internet user penetration rate, but with a still impressive 83 percent as of 2024. Malaysia, Singapore and Switzerland topped the ranking, each with a 95 percent rate. As for the
countries with the fastest average mobile internet speed that same year, only two European nations made the list. The highest figures were recorded in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Considering that worldwide around 60 percent of daily time was spent
browsing online via mobile devices, and these figures are only likely to grow, the importance of mobile internet is undisputed for providers looking to be successful on the market. A market which is, while lucrative, also extremely competitive.
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