Telecom
95% of the World Now Covered by Mobile Broadband Networks – GSMA Research
Ensuring people are able to use mobile internet, rather than focusing purely on network coverage, is the key to driving digital inclusion for 3.2 billion people worldwide, according to statistics released by the GSMA yesterday.
The organisation’s annual State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report shows that 95% of the global population now lives in areas served by mobile broadband connectivity, and that enabled by that coverage footprint, 55% of the world’s population is now connected to mobile internet. Providing coverage to the remaining 5% (the ‘coverage gap’) remains an important challenge.
However, the bigger issue is the 3.2 billion people, equivalent to 40% of the world’s population, who are covered by a mobile broadband network but face barriers that prevent them from getting online (the ‘usage gap’). These include:
– A lack of literacy and digital skills
– Affordability (particularly handset affordability)
– Access to relevant content and services
– Safety and security concerns and access
The impacts of these challenges have far-reaching consequences, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where mobile is the primary – and in many cases only – form of internet access.
94% of the world’s ‘unconnected’ population – who are more likely to be poor, living in rural areas and women – live in LMICs.
Lack of internet access holds them back from playing an active role in an increasingly online world, making them less able to cope with the continuing economic and social disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, rising energy prices and the cost-of-living crisis.
These barriers also prevent them from being able to access critical information and services such as healthcare, education, e-commerce, financial services and income-generating opportunities.
GSMA Director General, Mats Granryd said “More than 55% of people globally are now benefitting from the transformational power of mobile internet connectivity.
“Mobile operators worldwide have now extended mobile coverage to 95% of the global population, and continue investing every day to increase that footprint. We should celebrate that achievement, but we shouldn’t let it blind us to the even bigger challenge.
“It’s time to make real strides on the journey to reach the 3.2 billion people who are not yet using mobile internet despite living within the footprint of mobile broadband networks.
“We call on governments and organisations worldwide to work alongside the mobile industry and make digital inclusion a genuine priority. Removing barriers to mobile internet adoption will boost economic recovery, improve social mobility and gender equality, and transform the lives of millions worldwide.”
Important trends
Whilst the report highlighted the importance of increased focus on addressing the ‘usage gap’ it also revealed a number of important trends:
- Use of mobile internet is still growing, and driving digital inclusion. By the end of 2021, 4.3 billion people were using mobile internet or 55% of the world’s population, up from 43% in 2017
- Almost 300 million people came online in the past year. Most of the people who started using mobile internet in 2021 came from LMICs where 94% of the unconnected population live. As a result, for the first time half of the population LMICs is now using mobile internet.
- Globally, the coverage gap reduced substantially over the last 7 years. The percentage of people outside the reach of mobile broadband networks fell from 19% in 2015 to 5% at the end of 2021. However, there is no room for complacency: 400 million people worldwide still do not live in an area covered by a mobile broadband network, and progress has slowed since 2018.
While important progress has been achieved in increasing internet adoption and usage, the report, which was 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, demonstrates that growth has been unequal and there is a growing digital divide between and within countries.
It concludes that strong collective effort is needed to close the digital divide. This requires informed, targeted action by all stakeholders, including mobile operators, policymakers, international partners and the broader private sector to address the needs of the unconnected and the barriers they face to accessing and using the internet.
Addressing the mobile internet usage gap will be a focus of this year’s Mobile World Congress Africa event in Kigali, Rwanda, which starts next week.
Paradigm Initiative (PIN), a pan-African digital rights and inclusion organisation, says it has engaged more than 1,300 stakeholders across 11 African countries through a series of forums, training sessions and policy dialogues aimed at strengthening digital rights, inclusion and online civic participation.
The organisation disclosed this in a statement, saying the engagements were carried out during the second quarter of the year through 26 programmes focused on election monitoring, judicial capacity building, digital literacy and policy development.
According to PIN, the initiative brought together policymakers, judges, lawyers, journalists, civil society organisations and community groups to promote a safer, more inclusive digital ecosystem across the continent.
The organisation said the programmes focused on safeguarding electoral integrity in Zambia, The Gambia and Ethiopia, while also strengthening the capacity of Nigeria’s judiciary on issues relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI), data privacy and digital evidence.
In partnership with Meta, PIN trained 35 judges in Lagos across two cohorts on privacy, data protection, AI and digital evidence.
It described the initiative as a significant step towards equipping Nigeria’s judicial officers to effectively handle legal disputes arising from an increasingly digital society.
The organisation also expanded its Digital Rights and Elections in Africa Meetings (DREAM) to Ethiopia, The Gambia and Zambia.
According to the statement, the programme equipped 110 civil society organisations, media professionals and election management bodies with skills to monitor digital rights violations and protect online civic spaces during election periods.
PIN further said its Digital Rights Academy (DRA) trained more than 100 lawyers, law students and digital rights advocates from Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
The academy focused on strengthening participants’ capacity in strategic litigation and promoting accountability for digital rights violations.
The organisation also hosted a Digital Policy Engagement Roundtable, bringing together 34 stakeholders, including organisations representing persons with disabilities, to discuss accessibility and inclusion in digital policy development.
It said Afrocities roundtables held in Nigeria and Tanzania attracted 80 participants who explored ways of improving informal workers’ access to digital social protection and financial services.
According to the statement, a ministerial roundtable in Zambia also aligned the country’s digital priorities with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) review process.
PIN said it also implemented the Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE) Ambassadors Training in Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal.
The programme reached 315 participants and strengthened their capacity to deliver digital rights education through experiential learning approaches.
The organisation said the training improved participants’ understanding of digital rights and increased interest in practical digital rights education across communities.
PIN also highlighted the successful hosting of the Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum 2026 (DRIF26) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The forum, themed “Building Inclusive and Resilient Digital Futures”, attracted 415 participants from more than 39 countries.
According to the organisation, the event brought together policymakers, civil society organisations, media professionals, academics, legal experts, technologists, human rights defenders and development partners to promote dialogue, partnerships and knowledge sharing on Africa’s digital future.
PIN said the engagements underscored the growing importance of collaborative efforts in advancing digital rights, promoting inclusion and strengthening digital governance across the continent
Airtel Africa, a telecommunications and mobile money services provider across 14 African countries, saved 9.1 million litres of diesel during its just ended 2025/2026 financial year, as part of efforts to drive responsible growth by minimising the environmental impact of its operations.
This was achieved by reducing reliance on diesel and increasing use of lower-carbon energy sources, including the conversion of 390 infrastructure sites to on-grid power during the year, thus improving efficiency and reducing emissions.
Airtel Africa CEO, Sunil Taldar highlighted this achievement during a media roundtable held in Lusaka, Zambia, where he presented the Group’s Sustainability Scorecard and progress towards building a more sustainable, inclusive and connected Africa.
Other initiatives to reduce Airtel Africa’s environmental impact during the year included promoting the circular economy, recycling 94% of total waste generated. These form part of Airtel Africa’s broader sustainability strategy, which seeks to create long-term value by balancing business growth with environmental stewardship, digital inclusion and socio-economic development.
Mr. Taldar emphasized that responsible growth remains central to Airtel Africa’s business strategy and is reflected in the company’s ability to extend services and opportunities to millions of people across the continent while advancing sustainability goals. Airtel Africa’s network now reaches 81.9% of the population across its markets, enabling greater access to connectivity, information, education and economic opportunities for individuals and communities.
The company recorded progress in its efforts to advance financial inclusion. Airtel Money now serves 54.1 million customers through a network of 2.4 million agents, making it one of Africa’s largest digital financial services ecosystems. Notably, 44.1% of Airtel Money customers are female, demonstrating the platform’s growing role in empowering women through access to secure, affordable and convenient financial services.
Beyond connectivity and financial inclusion, Airtel Africa, through its philanthropic arm, Airtel Africa Foundation continued to drive meaningful change across communities in the continent, investing US$6.2 million in priority programmes in four strategic areas namely Financial Inclusion, Education, Environmental Sustainability and Digital Inclusion.
Through its partnership with UNICEF, 3,296 schools have been connected to the free internet access, helping to bridge the digital divide and expand access to quality education reaching over 2 million learners and 38,868 teachers, while 64 zero-rated digital learning platforms enabled more than 11 million learners to access free digital educational content.
Also, during the year, more than 30,000 young people received digital skills training, while over 250 full undergraduate STEM scholarships were awarded through the Airtel Africa Tech Fellowship programme, helping to prepare the next generation of African innovators and technology leaders.
Microsoft has announced plans to cut about 4,800 jobs globally, representing approximately 2.1 per cent of its workforce, as part of a broader restructuring aimed at improving efficiency and competitiveness.
The layoffs include about 1,600 employees in the company’s Xbox gaming division.
The company said additional job cuts are expected later this year as it continues efforts to reposition its gaming business.
According to an internal memo from Xbox Chief Executive Officer, Asha Sharma, the restructuring is intended to “reset” the business amid increasing competition in the gaming industry.
“Our business today is not healthy,” Sharma said in the memo.
“We are operating at margins that are three to 10 times lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses.”
She attributed the challenges facing the division to rising production costs and intense competition in the gaming hardware market.
According to Sharma, the gaming industry is currently experiencing a severe hardware crisis as the cost of components used in gaming consoles continues to rise.
Xbox competes with gaming platforms such as Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo’s Switch.
The latest layoffs form part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to streamline operations and strengthen the long-term sustainability of its gaming business.
Court Declares ARCON’s N60Bn Fine against Facebook Nigeria Illegal
NIN Enrollment Hits over 136m as New ID Law Takes Effect
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
Plateau PCC Collects Nigerians’ Data without Privacy Policy – FIJ
FG Suspends New Internet Regulations to Prevent Overlapping Rules
Mobile Internet Gender Gap Widest in Africa – GSMA
NASENI Moves to Digitize CCB’s 5m Assets Declaration and Operations
Nigeria Launches FreeTV Nationwide
CANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
UK, Nigeria Launch £15m Growth Programme to Accelerate Economic Transformation
E-Financial2 days agoTokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
General News2 days agoNIS Deploys Advanced Surveillance Masts, other Critical Infrastructure to Boost Border Security
Broadcasting2 days agoObi, NDC Presidential Candidate Faces N50Bn Defamation Claim over Alleged Podcast Remark
E-Business2 days agoWeebly Websites to Shut Down for Nigeria, 66 Other Countries from September
E-Financial2 days agoFG Denies N8 Trillion ‘Shadow Budget’, Says IMF Quoted out of Context
Telecom2 days agoNo Plans for Fresh Tariff Hike – MTN
General News1 day agoIHS Nigeria, FCT-HSES Concludes Clean Cooking Energy Campaign “Project Breathe Clean Air” in Abuja
News2 days agoWorld Bank Sounds Alarm: Low Revenue, Not Debt, Is Nigeria’s Biggest Fiscal Threat