GSMA says 3.4 billion people still do not use mobile internet

TL;DR: GSMA said on 15 September 2026 that 3.4 billion people still do not use mobile internet and warned that rising smartphone memory and chipset costs are pushing entry-level handsets further out of reach in low- and middle-income countries.

GSMA said on 15 September 2026 in New York that the world risks a wider AI access gap unless smartphone affordability improves for billions of people in low- and middle-income countries. In its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026, GSMA said more than 3.4 billion people still do not use mobile internet, even though more than 90% of them already live within mobile broadband coverage.

The report said 4.8 billion people now use mobile internet on their own device, but growth slowed in 2025. Around 160 million people came online in 2025, down from 190 million in the previous year, while 3.1 billion people remained in the mobile broadband coverage footprint without using mobile internet, which GSMA described as the usage gap.

GSMA said handset affordability is the biggest barrier to mobile internet adoption across surveyed low- and middle-income countries. By the end of 2025, an entry-level internet-enabled handset cost the poorest 20% of people in those countries 44% of their average monthly income, rising to 76% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

GSMA cited Counterpoint Research data showing that memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, then rose by a further 80% to 90% in the second quarter of 2026. GSMA said a $30 entry-level smartphone could previously have been affordable for almost 1.6 billion people, and a $20 device for around 2.2 billion people within mobile broadband coverage, but said those price points are now out of reach as component costs rise.