March 17, 2026 – Statistics on territorial dynamics, population stability and migration can now draw on the new potential offered by mobile and wireless networks. Furthermore, the data provided by mobile network operators (MNOs), together with other non-MNO data sources, lay the foundations for future dialogue between national statistical institutes and telecommunications operators with a view to producing regular official statistics. This is demonstrated by the results of the recently concluded MNO-MINDS project, led by Istat; a project co-funded by the European Commission (Eurostat) under the European Statistical Programme.
In its role as coordinator of the MNO-MINDS project, Istat led a consortium comprising nine European statistical institutes from Austria, Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden and Portugal. The aim is to propose new methodologies for integrating mobile phone data with other non-MNO data sources for the production of regular official statistics, and involves the development of guidelines and training courses to prepare researchers and technologists within the European Statistical System to use the new methodologies. Launched on 1 November 2023, the MNO-MINDS project concluded in October 2025. The results of these two years of research were presented at the final conference at the OECD in Paris in September 2025.
In parallel with MNO-MINDS, the European Commission (Eurostat) has funded the Multi-MNO project, with the aim of developing the initial version of a fully open methodological standard for processing MNO data for official statistics. Awarded to a consortium comprising, among others, two statistical institutes – Istat for Italy and CBS for the Netherlands – and five mobile network operators, including Vodafone Italia, now Fastweb + Vodafone, the project concluded in June 2025 after two years of testing.
Fastweb + Vodafone participated in Multi-MNO alongside its partner Motion Analytica to supply and analyse mobile network data, which was non-personal and anonymised in full compliance with privacy regulations. The data was collected in real time from the Vodafone network through the analysis of a sample of approximately one-third of the population – thanks to coverage reaching 99% of the population – and 40 million georeferenced metadata records at national level.
The data collected can serve as a valuable source of accurate spatio-temporal information on population distribution and mobility, and can therefore prove significant for the production of official statistics in areas such as spatial planning, transport and mobility, health and the environment, the economy and tourism. In recent years, several national statistical institutes within the European Statistical System (ESS) have begun conducting exploratory work to develop innovative statistical tools using these data. This work has demonstrated the need to develop standardised reference methods and processes that adhere to the requirements and principles of statistical production, such as quality, transparency, privacy and scientific rigour.
To enable the production of official statistics based on MNO data, new methodologies have been developed that allow vast quantities of aggregated data to be transformed into high-quality information of statistical value, whilst operating within a legislative framework that facilitates the development of sustainable partnership models between statistical authorities and network operators.
The findings and research from the MNO-MINDS project are due to be published shortly in a special issue of the International Association of Official Statistics’ journal *Statistical Journal*, confirming the growing international interest in the use of mobile phone data in official statistics.