{"id":26110,"date":"2026-09-15T05:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T04:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/?p=26110"},"modified":"2026-09-15T05:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T04:04:48","slug":"gsma-warns-of-emerging-global-ai-divide-as-three-billion-people-remain-offline-and-smartphone-component-costs-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gsma.com\/newsroom\/press-release\/gsma-warns-of-emerging-global-ai-divide-as-three-billion-people-remain-offline-and-smartphone-component-costs-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"GSMA warns of emerging global AI divide as three billion people remain offline and smartphone component costs soar\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

State of Mobile Internet Connectivity report calls for urgent action to boost access to affordable smartphones and ensure AI reaches everyone.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 September 2026, New York<\/strong>: The GSMA today warned that the world risks creating a new global divide between AI “haves” and “have-nots” unless urgent action is taken to address the digital divide and make smartphones affordable for billions of people in low- and middle-income countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launching its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity (SOMIC) Report 2026<\/strong>,<\/a> the GSMA, which represents the mobile ecosystem worldwide, warns that while artificial intelligence is transforming economies and societies, its benefits will remain out of reach for more than 3.4 billion people who still do not use mobile internet<\/strong> \u2013 despite more than 90% of them already living within mobile broadband coverage. Without affordable smartphones, these people will remain unable to benefit from the AI revolution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report highlights a growing threat to digital inclusion: a sharp increase in the cost of smartphone memory and chipsets, driven by global demand for AI infrastructure and data centres. These rising component costs are already feeding through into entry-level smartphone prices, placing internet access further beyond the reach of low-income consumers and threatening years of progress in closing the mobile usage gap.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GSMA is calling on chipset and memory manufacturers to take meaningful steps to increase availability of affordable components for entry-level handsets, in order to avoid a large portion of the population in emerging economies behind completely left out of the digital economy. The GSMA encourages these companies to enter in a dialogue with the wider mobile ecosystem, policymakers and multilateral financial institutions to identify solutions and bring affordable connectivity within reach of millions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the GSMA<\/strong> said<\/strong>: “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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnless 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 opportunity to experience the internet. The current memory price increases make this a clear and present danger. Preventing that outcome requires coordinated action from policymakers, mobile operators, device manufacturers and component suppliers alike. We call upon all parties to mobilise all possible tools, both on the production side and on the distribution and taxation areas, and to take measures to ease reuse of devices.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026 shows that 4.8 billion people<\/strong> now use mobile internet on their own device, but growth is slowing. Around 160 million people<\/strong> came online in 2025, down from 190 million the previous year, while 3.1 billion people<\/strong> continue to live within the footprint of mobile broadband networks but do not use mobile internet \u2013 the “usage gap”. The majority of this group still does not own an internet-enabled device.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report identifies handset affordability as the single biggest barrier to mobile internet adoption across surveyed low- and middle-income countries, followed by a lack of digital skills. By the end of 2025 an entry-level internet-enabled handset cost the poorest 20% of people in LMICs the equivalent of 44% of their average monthly income<\/strong>, rising to 76% in Sub-Saharan Africa <\/strong>with these costs expected to dramatically rise due to increases in memory costs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSMA analysis also shows the scale of the opportunity. Until a year ago, reducing the price of entry-level smartphones to $30<\/strong> could make devices affordable for almost 1.6 billion people<\/strong>, while reaching a $20<\/strong> price point could make them affordable for around 2.2 billion people<\/strong> currently living within mobile broadband coverage. However, the report warns that, despite the efforts of operators and manufacturers, including the GSMA\u2019s own Handset Affordability Coalition<\/a>, achieving those price points is today out of reach as memory costs continue to rise.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report and data from Counter Point Research, memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 before increasing by a further 80\u201390%<\/strong> during the second quarter of 2026. The result is already visible in the market, with entry-level smartphone prices increasing sharply and global smartphone shipments forecast to suffer their largest annual decline on record, driven primarily by the collapse of the sub-$100 handset segment. Emerging markets are expected to be hardest hit.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GSMA warns that this threatens to undermine not only digital inclusion but also the economic opportunity created by broader internet adoption. Previous GSMA analysis estimates that closing the mobile usage gap would generate $3.5 trillion<\/strong> in additional GDP between 2023 and 2030, with more than 90% of those benefits flowing to low- and middle-income countries.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improving handset affordability, alongside addressing other key barriers to digital inclusion. including low literacy and digital skills<\/a>, safety and security concerns, and availability of relevant content and services, is critical to realising this opportunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As governments and businesses increasingly invest in AI-enabled services across healthcare, education, financial services and public services, addressing the digital divide and ensuring affordable access to smartphones is becoming an essential prerequisite for inclusive AI adoption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

-ENDS- <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About GSMA<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GSMA is a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today\u2019s biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world\u2019s largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We invite you to find out more at\u202fgsma.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

About GSMA Connected Society<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Connected Society programme works with the mobile industry, technology companies, the development community and governments to increase access to and adoption of mobile internet, focusing on underserved population groups in developing markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2025 is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) through its Global Research and Technology Development portfolio and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) via the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, with research funded in part by the GSMA as well as the Gates Foundation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information, please visit gsma.com\/connectedsociety <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media Contacts<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSMA Press Office  
pressoffice@gsma.com<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State of Mobile Internet Connectivity report calls for urgent action to boost access to affordable smartphones and ensure AI reaches everyone.\u00a0 15 September 2026, New York: The GSMA today warned that the world risks creating a new global divide between AI “haves” and “have-nots” unless urgent action is taken to address the digital divide and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":26111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_type":[],"class_list":["post-26110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nGSMA warns of emerging global AI divide as three billion people remain offline and smartphone component costs soar\u00a0 - 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