Published on 16/09/2026 – 8:15 GMT+2•Updated 8:16
Global telecoms body GSMA is urging immediate action to make smartphones more affordable for people in low‑ and middle‑income countries, ensuring that everyone can benefit from the AI revolution.
The plea follows the launch of GSMA’s State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026, an annual study of worldwide mobile connectivity.
The report shows a stark “usage gap”: 4.8 billion people now use mobile internet on their own devices, while 3.4 billion do not, even though roughly 90 % of them live within mobile broadband coverage. Growth in the global digital population is also slowing, with about 160 million new users coming online in 2025 compared with 190 million the previous year.
GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath commented, “Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives on an unprecedented scale, but AI is meaningless if people cannot get online in the first place. The greatest risk is not simply an AI divide between countries, but between people who can afford to participate in the digital economy and those who cannot.”
GSMA stresses that leaving a large portion of the population in emerging economies out of the digital economy must be avoided and is calling for concrete steps to bridge the gap.
A growing usage gap
According to the report, a key driver of widening digital inequality is the sharp increase in the cost of smartphone memory and chipsets, driven by soaring global demand for AI infrastructure and data centres. Memory prices more than doubled between Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 and then rose another 80‑90 % during Q2 2026.
These escalating component costs are passed on to consumers, making entry‑level smartphones unaffordable for many worldwide. This trend threatens to reverse years of progress on closing the mobile usage gap. “Unless we protect the affordability of entry‑level smartphones, billions of people risk being excluded from the next generation of digital services before they have even had the chance to experience the internet,” said Badrinath.
By the end of 2025, entry‑level smartphones consumed up to 44 % of the average monthly income for the poorest 20 % of people in low‑ and middle‑income countries and up to 76 % in sub‑Saharan Africa, with prices expected to continue rising.
GSMA forecasts that the surge in smartphone prices will translate into the largest annual decline on record for global smartphone shipments, with emerging markets most vulnerable.
Bridging the digital divide
To tackle rising digital inequality, GSMA is urging manufacturers to cut entry‑level smartphone prices to $30, a move that could make devices affordable for nearly 1.6 billion people. A $20 price point could reach around 2.2 billion people currently within mobile broadband coverage.
The organisation is also calling on chipset and memory manufacturers to take meaningful steps to increase the availability of affordable components for entry‑level handsets, arguing that this would help lower the cost of budget devices.
In addition, GSMA recommends addressing other barriers to digital inclusion, such as low literacy and digital skills, safety and security concerns, and the availability of relevant content and services.
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