The GSM Association has released its mobile internet connectivity report for 2023, revealing that 55% of the world’s population – around 4.3 billion people – now own a smartphone. According to its data, there are 4.6 billion mobile Internet users, of which 4 billion access services via smartphone.
The GSMA report revealed a disparity between regions and their accessibility to mobile internet. 69% of smartphone owners in North America, East Asia and the Pacific use 4G-enabled devices, while the majority of users in sub-Saharan Africa still rely on 3G connectivity, similar to the Middle East and North Africa, where a third of mobile devices the user is still using 3G Internet.
The growth in mobile Internet usage is unsurprising, but approximately 3.4 billion people remain unconnected. According to GSMA, the global percentage of people living in areas with mobile broadband but not using it is 38%. The connectivity gap is evident in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with 59% and 52% of the population not online.
Another important fact from the report is that 600 million people, or about 8% of the world’s population, still use the Internet via feature phones. Other barriers to the further expansion of mobile users are digital skills, literacy, security issues and the availability of relevant content – all of which prevent smartphone users from fully using their devices to access the Internet.
According to Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA, lack of connectivity deprives billions of people of access to vital services and income-generating opportunities, disproportionately impacting poorer, less educated, rural and female users.
These groups will be further affected by the cost of living crisis and the increase in climate-related emergencies, and the Executive called for “the acceleration of digital inclusion and the breaking down of barriers to prevent the digital divide from widening further ”.
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