Reusing mobile network operator data for official statistics: the case for a common methodological framework for the European Statistical System – 2023 edition

This position paper was prepared by the ESS Task Force on the use of Mobile Network Operator (MNO) data for Official Statistics. The Task Force was established in 2021 to address the methodological aspects involved in the (re)use of MNO data for official statistics. The paper provides three main contributions. First, starting from a reasoned analysis of the current landscape, it motivates the need for establishing a common ESS methodological standard defined at the European level for the transformation of MNO data into official statistics. Second, it establishes the key high-level requirements that such common ESS standard should fulfill: openness, transparency, modularity, evolvability, multi-MNO orientation (i.e., combine information from multiple MNOs) and supporting the fusion of MNO data with non-MNO data. Third, it provides a bird’s-eye view of the ongoing activities in the ESS to advance towards the definition of a common ESS methodological standard for MNO data in official statistics.