Spectrum and Rural Connectivity

The GSMA’s “Spectrum and Rural Connectivity” report examines how the digital divide affects people living in rural areas and how governments and regulators can address this challenge.

The report finds that despite significant progress in extending network coverage, rural populations remain 25% less likely to use mobile internet than their urban counterparts and 30% less likely to regularly use online services such as messaging, banking, and education. Where connectivity is available, network quality, which relies on low bands in rural areas, remains a key barrier to greater use, limiting the ability of rural communities to fully participate in the digital economy. 

The report also finds that increased amounts of low-band spectrum (i.e. spectrum below 1 GHz) can have a significant real-world impact. Each additional 50 MHz of low-band spectrum is associated with a 7 percentage-point increase in 4G coverage and an 11 percentage-point increase in 5G coverage in rural areas. Increased low-band spectrum availability is also linked to higher rural download speeds – improving performance by up to 8% – and reduced congestion at the cell edge, where rural users are most likely to experience connectivity issues.

Therefore, the GSMA calls on governments and regulators to take targeted action to maximise the benefits of spectrum for rural connectivity, including: 

• Prioritising the assignment of all low-band spectrum allocated to mobile services, to expand rural coverage and improve speeds; 
• Ensuring affordable spectrum pricing, aligned with economic fundamentals, to support sustainable investment in rural networks; 
• Providing long-term regulatory certainty of access to spectrum, matching the long lifespans of rural network assets; and 
• Lowering barriers to voluntary network sharing and reducing regulatory costs, including planning and site access, to further improve the economics of rural deployment.