GSMA members are working hard to drive wider adoption of the mobile internet among the 3.8 billion people still unconnected in emerging markets to ensure that everyone can benefit from the Digital Dividend.

However, recent research by the GSMA Connected Society programme has identified four key barriers to digital inclusivity: affordability, rural network coverage, locally relevant content and digital skills.

It is this last barrier that the Connected Society’s Mobile Internet Skills Training Toolkit (MISTT) seeks to address. Initially, the MISTT is targeted at the Indian market, although it has been designed to be replicable across all developing nations.

Sarah Crampsie, Senior Manager, Digital Literacy, Connected Society Programme, who led the MISTT work, introduced the launch by saying “The mobile internet skills training toolkit can be replicated globally to support the use of the mobile internet for underserved communities. Thank you to all our partners, Idea Cellular, Telenor India and Digital Empowerment Foundation for collaborating to produce this introductory offering on digital skills.”

The MISTT is a visually rich training resource designed for MNOs, NGOs, development organisations and governments to provide training to improve peoples’ basic knowledge and understanding of the mobile internet and how it can positively impact their lives. It offers an introduction to using the mobile internet, focusing on three services, Google, WhatsApp and YouTube on an entry-level Android smartphone.

Commenting on the unique potential of mobile telephony to deliver these crucial training materials, Osama Manzar, CEO and Founder of the Digital Empowerment Foundation, said “Mobile is a tool for imparting information that can change their lives, or empower their lives. So, I would say the biggest change is considering mobile as a primary tool to enable people to find out and search for those tools which are actually directly related to their lives.”

Navanit Narayan, Chief Service Delivery Officer of Idea Cellular also focused on the unique ability of mobile to deliver change to the lives of the unconnected, likening its impact to a fundamental shift in how citizens access and process information, saying “Television brought viewing into every home, and every village, the mobile internet can bring the world into the hands of people – into the phone that they are holding.”

The pressing need for nationwide digital literacy in India is so profound that the government has launched the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM), as an integral part of the Digital India campaign, to help combat the digital skills gap in India. The NDLM is set to provide ICT training initially to one million people, and will go on to provide critical digital skills training to at least one person in each household by 2020 .

In order to achieve this, there needs to be a shift in the Indian population’s understanding of, and approach to, mobile technology. If Indian citizens do not understand the fundamental benefits the mobile internet confers (whether it be searching for jobs, health information, or just watching a music video), they will not be motivated to learn how to use it.

To this end, together with Idea Cellular, Telenor, the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), 2CV Research Ltd and Point of View, the GSMA has taken positive action to reduce the digital skills barrier in India through the launch of the Mobile Internet Skills Training Toolkit (MISTT).

When asked to envision an India in 2020 with many millions more citizens benefitting from the mobile internet, Sharad Mehrotra, CEO, Telenor India, said “There’s going to be a paradigm shift. With the Digital India initiative, with the Smart Cities initiative, and with the MISTT, we are going to see a different world in the next four to five years.”

To view and download the MISTT, please visit: http://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/programmes/connected-society/mistt

To watch an introductory video explaining the aims of the MISTT and with commentary from our partners, please click here: