The telecom industry group, GSM Association, expects continued growth of mobile industry despite recession. The continued growth would provide stimulus for global economy. Robert Conway, CEO of the association that has worldwide representation of 750 mobile operators, also predicted good growth in social networking over mobile internet, fuelled by the increased use of PC-enabled smart phones.

Conway said that the industry has shown resilience, especially in emerging markets. He discussed the role of telecom industry in reviving global economy at the association’s board meeting in Seoul. The effect of countries optimising the growth of broadband would have a good effect globally. He concentrated on the potential of smart phones and net books with mobile connections, saying that smart phones had spurred the use of social networking on mobiles. He said that it was just the tip of an iceberg.

But, mobile operators are facing some difficulties in providing access to services and applications between operating systems. Conway added that industry was coming up with a global platform, which would allow users to access application irrespective of device or operating system.

Long Term Evolution (LTE), set to be a dominant standard for next-gen high-speed mobile broadband, would see an accelerated growth, according to Conway. Major operators like NTT DoCoMo, Verizon, and China Mobile would gradually migrate to LTE as soon as technology allows.