GSMA calls for renewed focus on closing the Usage Gap as more than 3 billion people remain offline despite available mobile internet services

Though 200 million more people began using mobile internet in 2024, much more needs to be done to help those living in areas with coverage but not yet connecting to it

London, 9 September 2025: 4.7 billion people, or 58% of the world's population, now use mobile internet services on their own device, according to the flagship annual State of Mobile Internet Connectivity report from the GSMA, the global industry body for the mobile sector.

However, despite 96% of the global population living in areas with mobile internet coverage available to them, 3.1 billion people are still not using it. These people - 38 % of the world's population - sit within what is known as the Usage Gap, with barriers other than coverage availability keeping them offline.

Mobile remains the primary, and in many cases only, way most people access the internet in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and now accounts for 84% of global internet connections.

Progress continues to be made in delivering mobile internet coverage to everyone, everywhere, with an additional 40 million people covered by mobile internet infrastructure last year, the majority (75%) in Sub-Saharan Africa. This leaves around 300 million people (4% of the global population) living in what is labelled the Coverage Gap, lacking any available mobile internet connectivity.

This means that 3.4 billion people globally remained unconnected to mobile internet services in 2024 - a combination of the Usage Gap and the Coverage Gap. The overwhelming majority (over 90%) of these live in areas with available coverage they remain unable or unwilling to use. Closing this Usage Gap would provide an estimated $3.5 trillion in additional GDP globally over the eight years to 2030.

Addressing imbalances in LMICs

The vast majority (93%) of the unconnected live in LMICs, where further divides pose additional challenges. Adults living in rural areas in LMICs are 25% less likely to use mobile internet services than those in urban areas, while women in LMICs are 14% less likely than men to be online via mobile.

Key barriers to mobile internet adoption include awareness of mobile internet, affordability (primarily of handsets) and digital skills and literacy.

Across LMICs, the affordability of an entry-level, internet-enabled device has remained relatively unchanged since 2021 and represents 16% of average monthly income, increasing to 48% for the poorest 20%.

"Although 'the digital divide' and 'connect the unconnected' have been on the agenda for well over a decade, the time has come to drive more meaningful progress," comments Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the GSMA. "A device at $30 could make handsets affordable to up to 1.6 billion people who are currently priced out of connecting to available mobile internet coverage.

"To produce this will require a concerted, collaborative effort between the mobile industry, device manufacturers, policy makers, financial institutions and more, but it is a responsibility we all must shoulder."

In 2024, the GSMA launched the Handset Affordability Coalition, an initiative involving major global mobile operators, vendors, device ecosystem players, international organisations and financing institutions, such as the World Bank Group, the ITU and the WEF Edison Alliance, with the aim of accelerating access to smartphones among LMIC populations.

Driving meaningful connectivity

Other barriers to using available mobile internet services include the lack of relevant content, concerns over security, and limited or no access to fundamental enablers such as consistent electricity.

A key ongoing challenge, even among the 4.7 billion people who are already online via mobile, is in encouraging meaningful connectivity - users having a safe, satisfying, enriching and productive online experience that is affordable in their context. While most mobile internet users use it every day, often this is limited to one or two activities, such as checking a news site or social media feed.

On the coverage side, progress continues to be made both in standard and more advanced technologies, with 5G services now covering more than half the world's population (54%) and 4G reaching 93%, though rollout is slowing as 5G investment is prioritised.

"Getting online has enormous and undeniable socioeconomic benefits to individuals and societies," Badrinath continues. "Essential services such as healthcare, education, e-commerce and banking are now most commonly accessed online, and for billions of people this primarily means on mobile.

"In 96% of the world, the infrastructure is in place for people to get online via mobile. Removing the remaining barriers to using these services is essential to ensuring existing digital divides are reduced rather than deepened and many more of these 3.1 billion people can benefit from life-changing connectivity."

To read the full report and for more information, see here.

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2025 is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) 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.

ENDS

About the GSMA
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's biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.

We invite you to find out more at gsma.com

About GSMA Connected Society

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.

For more information, please visit gsma.com/connectedsociety

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