The new report – funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation – highlights the obstacles preventing more people from using mobile internet services and the ongoing need for collaboration between governments, mobile network operators and international organizations.
Closing the Gaps:
The latest report describes the overall connectivity gap—that is, the combination of the usage and coverage gaps—and its findings are as follows:
- 4.6 billion people (57% of the world's population) already use mobile internet on their own devices.
- 350 million people (4% of the world's population) live in remote areas without mobile internet networks (coverage gap).
- 3.1 billion people (39% of the world's population) live within mobile internet coverage but do not use it (the usage gap). The usage gap is nine times larger than the coverage gap.
- The least connected region in the world is Sub-Saharan Africa, where only 27% of the population uses mobile internet services, representing a coverage gap of 13% and a usage gap of 60%.
The biggest challenge remains the usage gap. Getting these people connected to the internet would represent an estimated $3.5 trillion in value to the global economy between 2023 and 2030, with 90% of this impact benefiting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The coverage gap is most pronounced in rural, poor, and sparsely populated areas, which are often less developed, landlocked, or small island developing states. An estimated $418 billion in investment is needed to build the necessary infrastructure to achieve universal mobile internet access.
Breaking Down Barriers:
For unconnected people in low-income and low-income countries, the affordability of devices and digital literacy are the main obstacles to mobile internet adoption.
In these countries, basic internet-enabled devices cost 18% of average monthly income, a figure that rises to 51% for the poorest 20% of the world’s population. In sub-Saharan Africa, home to a quarter of the world’s unconnected population, the cost reaches 99% of the average monthly income of the poorest 20% of the region.
Lack of digital literacy is the second biggest obstacle overall, but the main problem in the Asian countries studied in the new report. Other barriers to mobile internet use include a lack of relevant and localized content and services, security concerns, and limited access to additional critical infrastructure and services, such as electricity.
Enabling Meaningful Connectivity:
Although most people who use mobile internet do so daily, it is typically only for a relatively small number of the most popular use cases. An average of 43% of mobile internet users in the surveyed countries stated they wanted to use it more. Therefore, enabling meaningful connectivity and fostering true digital inclusion remains a challenge.
Among those already using mobile internet, the most common obstacles to increasing its use are concerns about security, affordability (especially of data, but also of phones), and the connectivity experience.
Moreover, while the vast majority of people worldwide now access the internet on a 4G or 5G smartphone, one in five mobile internet subscribers still uses 3G smartphones or feature phones. This reaches more than a third in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and North Africa, and almost two-thirds in sub-Saharan Africa, limiting the reach and depth of the online and digital experience among users.
John Giusti, GSMA's Director of Regulation, stated: “While progress continues to be made in improving infrastructure and increasing mobile internet adoption, significant digital divides remain.
Furthermore, although most users access mobile internet daily, their activities are often limited to one or two tasks, even though many express a desire to do more. This highlights the persistence of barriers—affordability, lack of knowledge and digital literacy, security concerns, and a lack of relevant content and services—that prevent users from connecting and using mobile internet to meet their life-changing needs once connected.
Governments, mobile operators, and international organizations must collaborate to overcome barriers such as affordability, digital skills, and awareness of mobile internet and its benefits. This effort should also focus on investing in local digital ecosystems and ensuring robust online security frameworks.”
