Consumer barriers to mobile internet adoption in Africa

This report on barriers to mobile internet adoption in Africa, produced by GSMA Intelligence in collaboration with the GSMA’s Connected Society team, focusses on understanding the consumer barriers to digital inclusion in the region.

Digital inclusion – defined here as the expansion of global connectivity and mobile internet adoption – can deliver broad economic and social benefits by bringing communication services to previously unconnected populations. This in turn can help reduce poverty, improve infrastructure and services, and further increase internet access and usage. Unconnected and underserved communities risk falling further behind, widening the digital divide, if barriers to digital inclusion remain unaddressed.

Tackling affordability and digital literacy, and ensuring that locally relevant content and services are available, will be key to connecting the 450 million people in Africa that are covered by mobile broadband networks but not yet connected. Further collaboration between mobile operators and governments will help extend mobile connectivity and internet services to millions of citizens across the region.