The benefits of mobile connectivity have yet to be fully realised as 43 per cent of the global population – equivalent to 3.45 billion people – still do not use mobile internet, according to the latest GSMA State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024 report.

While the proportion of the global population using mobile internet on their own device continues to increase annually, the rate of user growth is slowing. Some 160 million people started using mobile internet in 2023, similar to 2022 levels but a drop from 2015-2021 when more than 200 million new users were added each year.

The report – funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) via the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation – highlights the barriers to getting more people using mobile internet services and the ongoing need for collaboration between governments, mobile network operators and international organisations.

Closing the gaps

The latest report outlines the overall connectivity gap – that is, the combination of the usage and coverage gaps – and its findings include:

• 4.6 billion people (57 per cent of the global population) are now using mobile internet on their own device
• 350 million people (4 per cent of the global population) live in largely remote areas without mobile internet networks (the coverage gap)
• 3.1 billion people (39 per cent of the global population) live within mobile internet coverage but do not use it (the usage gap). The usage gap is nine times the size of the coverage gap
• The least connected region globally is Sub-Saharan Africa, where only 27 per cent of the population are using mobile internet services, leaving a 13 per cent coverage gap and a 60 per cent 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 during 2023-2030, with 90 per cent of this impact benefiting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The coverage gap predominantly exists in rural, poor and sparsely populated areas – often less developed, landlocked, or small island developing states. An estimated $418 billion in investment is needed to build the infrastructure required 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 per cent of average monthly income, with this rising to 51 per cent for the world’s poorest 20 per cent. In Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for a quarter of the global unconnected population, this rises to 99 per cent of average monthly income for the region’s poorest 20 per cent.

A lack of digital skills and literacy is the second-biggest barrier overall, but the top issue in Asian countries surveyed as part of the new report. The other established barriers to people using mobile internet are a lack of relevant, localised content and services, concerns over safety and security, and limited access to additional critical infrastructure and services such as electricity.

Enabling meaningful connectivity

While the majority of people who use mobile internet do so daily, it is typically for only a relatively small number of the most popular use cases. An average of 43 per cent of mobile internet users in surveyed countries reported wanting to use it more. 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 usage include safety and security concerns, affordability (particularly of data but also handsets) 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 are still using 3G smartphones or a feature phone. This reaches more than a third in Latin America & the Caribbean and MENA and almost two thirds in Sub-Saharan Africa, limiting the range and depth of online and digital experience among users.

John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA, commented: “While progress continues to be made in improving infrastructure and in increasing mobile internet adoption, significant digital divides exist. In addition, although most users access mobile internet daily, their activities are often limited to just one or two activities, even though many express a desire to do more. This highlights persistent barriers – affordability, lack of skills and literacy, concerns around safety and security and a lack of relevant content and services  – that prevent users from getting online and then using mobile internet to meet their life needs once they are online.

“Governments, mobile operators, and international organisations must collaborate to address barriers such as affordability, digital skills, and awareness of mobile internet and the benefits it can provide. This effort must also focus on investing in local, digital ecosystems and ensuring robust online safety frameworks,” Giusti added.

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