Drivers and sensitivities
01 / DRIVERS- Low internet penetration and rising smartphone adoption
- Data traffic growth
- Tower and fibre sharing models
- Mobile money and fintech services
- Currency, because network equipment and debt are often in dollars
- Consumer income and data affordability
- Interest rates and capital intensity
- Regulatory tariff policy
Editorial summary. Qualitative drivers are general industry context written by Invest Global, last reviewed 2026-10-08. They are not forecasts. Figures elsewhere on this page are sourced and dated.
Key risks
02 / RISKS- Currency depreciation against dollar costs
- Spectrum fees and tax burdens
- Regulatory intervention on pricing or SIM registration
- Network shutdowns
- Competition and price wars
Investing in frontier and emerging markets carries significant risk, including total loss. This list is illustrative and not exhaustive.
Value chain
03 / STAGES- Spectrum and licence acquisition
- Network build: towers, fibre, radio
- Wholesale and interconnect
- Retail services and distribution
- Adjacent services: mobile money, content
Top exposed countries
04 / 199 SCOREDRanked by exposure score, a weighted percentile of sourced indicators. Select Sources on any row to see each input, its period, source and as-of date.
| # | Country | Score | Band | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Ivory Coast | 83 | High | There are 184 mobile subscriptions per 100 people; 41.4% of people use the internet (2024). |
| 02 |  Tanzania | 82 | High | Population is 70.5 million; 31.2% of people use the internet (2024, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 03 |  Kenya | 80 | High | Population is 57.5 million; 35.0% of people use the internet (2024, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 04 |  South Africa | 78 | High | Population is 64.7 million; there are 179 mobile subscriptions per 100 people (2024, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 05 |  Colombia | 77 | High | Population is 53.4 million; there are 174 mobile subscriptions per 100 people (2024, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 06 |  Japan | 76 | High | Population is 123.4 million; there are 178 mobile subscriptions per 100 people (2023, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 07 |  Indonesia | 74 | High | Population is 285.7 million; 72.8% of people use the internet (2024, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 08 |  Iran | 74 | High | Population is 92.4 million; there are 174 mobile subscriptions per 100 people (2024, 2025). |
| 09 |  Myanmar | 73 | High | Population is 54.9 million; 45.4% of people use the internet (2020, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 10 |  Sri Lanka | 73 | High | 54.6% of people use the internet; population is 21.8 million (2024, 2025). |
| 11 |  Bangladesh | 72 | High | Population is 175.7 million; 53.4% of people use the internet (2024, 2025). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 12 |  Benin | 71 | High | 34.0% of people use the internet; population is 14.8 million (2024, 2025). |
Exposure scores describe how large and relevant a sector is in a country's economy and opportunity set relative to other countries. They are not a measure of attractiveness, expected return or risk. Educational content only, not investment advice.
Largest markets by scale
05 / 199 RANKEDExposure scores show relative weight. This ranking shows absolute size on one sourced measure: mobile subscriptions. Subscriptions per 100 people times population.
| # | Country | Mobile subscriptions | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  China | 2024 | |
| 02 |  India | 2024 | |
| 03 |  United States of America | 2024 | |
| 04 | Indonesia | 2024 | |
| 05 |  Russia | 2024 | |
| 06 | Japan | 2023 | |
| 07 |  Brazil | 2024 | |
| 08 |  Pakistan | 2024 | |
| 09 | Bangladesh | 2024 | |
| 10 |  Nigeria | 2024 | |
| 11 | Iran | 2024 | |
| 12 |  Mexico | 2024 |
Derived from the cited sources as described above. A larger economy ranks higher on absolute measures even when the sector is a smaller share of its output.
Top listed companies
06 / PLAYERSLargest listed companies tagged to this sector in the Invest Global capital markets dataset, ranked by market capitalisation in US dollars. Coverage is the markets in that dataset, so it is not a global census.
| # | Company | Country | Market cap | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Deutsche Telekom DTE |  Germany | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 02 | Bharti Airtel BHARTIARTL | India | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 03 | America Movil AMXB | Mexico | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 04 | Saudi Telecom Company 7010 |  Saudi Arabia | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 05 | Singtel Z74 |  Singapore | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 06 | Emirates Telecom (Etisalat Group) EAND |  United Arab Emirates | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 07 | Advanced Info Service (AIS) ADVANC |  Thailand | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 08 | MTN Group MTN | South Africa | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 09 | Telenor TEL |  Norway | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 10 | Vodacom VOD | South Africa | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 11 | Millicom TIGO |  Luxembourg | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 12 | MTN Nigeria Communications PLC MTNN | Nigeria | Industry: Radiotelephone Communications | |
| 13 | Telkom Indonesia TLKM | Indonesia | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 14 | Safaricom PLC SCOM | Kenya | Industry: Radiotelephone Communications | |
| 15 | Ooredoo Qatar ORDS |  Qatar | Invest Global sector tag |
Not recommendations. A list of the largest companies is not a list of suggested investments. Sector tags marked Invest Global are an editorial classification of each company's main business. Market capitalisation is a snapshot, not a live quote.
Regulatory considerations
07 / REGULATION- Licensing and spectrum auctions
- Quality of service and tariff oversight
- Foreign ownership caps
- Infrastructure sharing rules
The OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index scores 105 economies from 0 (open) to 1 (closed). The median is , with a range of 0.00 to 0.74. The table above notes the score under each top market where it is covered. Sector-specific restrictions vary and are set out in the OECD regulatory database.
Regulatory summaries are general and change often. Confirm current rules with local counsel. Not legal advice.
Typical entry routes
08 / ACCESS- Listed operators and tower companies
- Communication services sector funds
- Infrastructure funds holding towers and fibre
- Debt of regional operators
- State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETFSELECT SECTOR SPDR TRUST
- Vanguard Communication Services Index FundVANGUARD WORLD FUND
- iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETFiSHARES TRUST
Examples, not recommendations. Each fund is confirmed in the SEC series and class file. These are US-listed funds whose holdings are mostly developed-market issuers; check each prospectus for current holdings, fees and domicile. No prices, yields or fees are shown because none are verified here.
Sourced charts
09 / DATACharts show historical data from the cited sources. Past levels do not indicate future results. Commodity series are World Bank nominal US dollar monthly benchmarks.
Method and sources
10 / FORMULAEach score is a weighted average of percentile ranks. For every indicator, a country's latest observation (not older than 2014) is ranked against all other countries with data (mid-rank percentile, 0 to 1). Where a lower raw value signals more headroom (for example electricity access), the rank is inverted. The weighted average of the available percentiles is scaled to 0 to 100. A cell is published only if indicators holding at least 60 percent of the weight are available; otherwise the country is omitted for that sector.
| Indicator | Weight | Direction | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individuals using the Internet | 35% | Headroom (lower raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
| Population | 35% | Scale (higher raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
| Mobile subscriptions per 100 people | 30% | Scale (higher raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
The score describes how large and relevant a sector is in a country's economy and opportunity set, relative to other countries. It is not a measure of attractiveness, return or risk, and it is not investment advice.
- World Bank, World Development Indicators CC BY 4.0
- U.S. SEC, Investment Company Series and Class Information U.S. Government work, public domain
- companiesmarketcap.com (via the Invest Global capital markets dataset) Third-party data carried over from the existing Invest Global capital markets dataset; reuse licence to be confirmed
- stockanalysis.com exchange listings, converted to USD at floatrates.com rates (via the Invest Global capital markets dataset) Third-party data carried over from the existing Invest Global capital markets dataset; reuse licence to be confirmed
- OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index CC BY 4.0 (OECD content published from 1 July 2024)
Data version 2026-10-09. Every datapoint carries its source and as-of date; hover or tap a dotted value to see them.