By Chibuzor Alli
Closing the global mobile internet usage gap could generate an additional $3.5tn in economic output by 2030, with more than 90% of the potential gains expected to come from low- and middle-income countries, according to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association.
The association made the projection in its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026, which found that 4.8 billion people were using mobile internet on their own devices by the end of 2025.
However, another 3.1 billion people lived in areas with mobile broadband coverage but were not using mobile internet, highlighting the scale of the global usage gap.
The mobile internet usage gap refers to people who live within the reach of mobile broadband networks but do not use mobile internet. This distinguishes them from people who remain outside areas covered by mobile broadband services.
“Closing the global mobile internet usage gap could generate $3.5 trillion in additional GDP between 2023 and 2030, with more than 90 per cent of the potential benefits accruing to low- and middle-income countries,” it stated.
Mobile internet usage gap threatens economic opportunities
The report said more than 90% of the economic benefits from closing the usage gap would accrue to low- and middle-income countries, where the cost of devices remains a major barrier to adoption.
The association identified handset affordability as the biggest obstacle to mobile internet adoption across the low- and middle-income countries surveyed.
A lack of digital skills was identified as the second-largest barrier.
The affordability problem is particularly severe in Sub-Saharan Africa. At the end of 2025, an entry-level internet-enabled handset cost people in the poorest 20% of the population the equivalent of 76% of their average monthly income.
Rising memory costs push up smartphone prices
The report warned that rising memory costs were putting additional pressure on entry-level smartphone prices and could undermine efforts to make internet-enabled devices more affordable in developing markets.
Data from Counterpoint Research cited by the association showed that memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026.
Prices then increased by a further 80-90% in the second quarter, adding to cost pressures across the smartphone market.
The report said the impact was already being felt in the entry-level smartphone segment, with global smartphone shipments forecast to record their largest annual decline as the sub-$100 market contracts.
Until recently, reducing the price of entry-level smartphones to $30 was estimated to make the devices affordable to almost 1.6 billion people living within mobile broadband coverage.
A $20 price point was estimated to extend affordability to about 2.2 billion people.
However, the association said those targets were becoming increasingly difficult to achieve as memory costs continued to rise.
Mobile internet adoption growth slows
The cost challenge comes as global mobile internet adoption continues to increase, although growth has slowed.
About 160 million people began using mobile internet in 2025, compared with 190 million new users recorded in the previous year.
The association warned that affordability constraints could also deepen disparities in access to emerging digital technologies, including artificial intelligence.
People without internet-enabled devices risk being unable to participate fully in economies and services that are becoming increasingly digital.
Closing the mobile internet usage gap
The association said closing the mobile internet usage gap would require more than expanding mobile broadband networks.
It called for measures to improve the affordability of internet-enabled devices, strengthen digital skills and help consumers derive greater value from mobile internet services.
The report’s findings suggest that network availability alone is not enough to ensure people use mobile internet. Addressing the barriers that prevent people who already live within coverage areas from going online will also be necessary to unlock the projected economic benefits.
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