The benefits of mobile connectivity have yet to be fully realized as 43% of the world’s population – equivalent to 3.45 billion people – are still not using mobile internet, according to the latest GSMA‘Status of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024‘ report.
While the share of the world’s population using mobile internet on their own device continues to rise annually, user growth is slowing. Last year, 160 million people started using mobile internet, similar to 2022 levels but down from 2015-2021, when more than 200 million new users were added each year.
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 barriers to getting more people to use mobile internet services and the continued need for cooperation between governments, mobile network operators and international organizations.
Closing the holes
The latest report outlines the overall connectivity gap – that is, the combination of the gaps in usage and coverage – and its findings include:
- 4.6 billion people (57% of the world’s population) now use mobile internet on their own device
- 350 million people (4% of the world’s population) live in largely remote areas without mobile internet networks (the coverage gap)
- 3.1 billion people (39% of the world’s population) have mobile internet coverage, but do not use it (the usage gap). The usage gap is nine times as large as the coverage gap
- The least connected region in the world is Sub-Saharan Africa, where only 27% of the population uses mobile internet services, leaving a 13% coverage gap and a 60% usage gap
The biggest challenge remains the usage gap. Getting these people online would be worth an estimated $3.5 trillion to the global economy over 2023-2030, with 90% of this impact benefiting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
The coverage gap exists mainly in rural, poor and sparsely populated areas – often less developed, landlocked or small island developing states. An estimated $418 billion in investments is needed to build the infrastructure needed to achieve universal mobile Internet access.
Breaking barriers
For the unconnected in LMICs, device affordability and digital skills and literacy are the main barriers to mobile internet adoption.
In these countries, entry-level internet-enabled devices cost 18% of the average monthly income, while for the world’s poorest 20% this rises to 51%. In sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for a quarter of the world’s unconnected population, this rises to 99% of the average monthly income for the region’s poorest 20%.
A lack of digital skills and literacy is the second biggest barrier overall, but the most important problem in the Asian countries surveyed in the new report. The other established barriers to people using mobile internet are a lack of relevant, localized content and services, concerns about safety and security, and limited access to additional critical infrastructure and services such as electricity.
Enabling meaningful connectivity
Although the majority of people who use mobile internet do so every day, this is usually only the case for a relatively small number of the most popular applications. On average, 43% of mobile internet users in the countries surveyed indicated that they would like to use it more often. A challenge therefore remains in enabling meaningful connectivity and driving true digital inclusion.
Among those already using mobile internet, the most commonly reported barriers to increased use include safety and security concerns, affordability (particularly of data but also of handsets) and the connectivity experience.
Furthermore, while the vast majority of people worldwide now access the internet via a 4G or 5G smartphone, one in five mobile internet subscribers still use 3G smartphones or a feature phone. This reaches more than a third in Latin America and the Caribbean and MENA and almost two-thirds in Sub-Saharan Africa, limiting the reach and depth of online and digital experiences among users.
John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA, explains: “While progress continues to be made in improving infrastructure and increasing mobile internet adoption, significant digital divides exist.
“Furthermore, while most users use mobile internet on a daily basis, their activities are often limited to just one or two activities, even though many have expressed a desire to do more. This highlights persistent barriers – affordability, lack of skills and literacy, safety and security concerns and a lack of relevant content and services – that prevent users from getting online and then using mobile internet to meet their needs once they get online are.
“Governments, mobile operators and international organizations must work together to tackle barriers such as affordability, digital skills and awareness of mobile internet and the benefits it can bring. This effort should also focus on investing in local, digital ecosystems and ensuring robust online security frameworks.”
