WorldStage– The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has warned that rising smartphone component costs could further exclude millions of Nigerians from mobile internet access.
GSMA raised the concerns in its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026, released on Wednesday.
The association said handset affordability remained the biggest barrier to mobile internet adoption across surveyed low- and middle-income countries.
It noted that over 3.4 billion people globally still do not use mobile internet, although they live in areas with mobile broadband coverage.
It said most people excluded from mobile internet lack affordable internet-enabled devices rather than network coverage.
It said the poorest 20 per cent of people in low- and middle-income countries spent an average 44 per cent of monthly income on entry-level smartphones.
GSMA said that in Sub-Saharan Africa, the cost rose to 76 per cent of average monthly income, placing basic digital access beyond the reach of many households.
It said the worsening affordability is fueled by a sharp surge in memory and chipset prices, largely driven by growing demand from AI infrastructure and data centres.
It said memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and first quarter of 2026.
It said prices increased by another 80 to 90 per cent during the second quarter, further raising production costs for entry-level smartphones.
The association noted that the increases were already affecting retail prices and threatening the sub-100-dollar smartphone market.
GSMA warned that emerging markets, including Nigeria could be disproportionately affected because low-income consumers depended heavily on affordable devices.
The report said 4.8 billion people now used mobile internet on their own devices, but growth had slowed significantly.
According to GSMA, about 160 million people came online in 2025, compared with 190 million in the previous year, indicating a slowdown in new mobile internet adoption.
GSMA said 3.1 billion people remained within mobile broadband coverage but did not use mobile internet, creating a persistent usage gap.
The report said reducing entry-level smartphone prices to 30 dollars could previously have made devices affordable for 1.6 billion people.
GSMA said a 20-dollar price point could have extended affordability to about 2.2 billion people living within mobile broadband coverage.
However, GSMA warned that rising memory costs had made such affordability targets increasingly difficult to achieve.
It said artificial intelligence could deepen the digital divide if governments and industry stakeholders failed to improve access to affordable smartphones.
Also, Vivek Badrinath, Director-General, GSMA, said artificial intelligence would have limited value for people unable to access the internet.
“AI is meaningless if people cannot get online in the first place,” Badrinath said.
He said the emerging divide was no longer only between countries, but also between people who could afford digital participation and those who could not.
“Unless we protect the affordability of entry-level smartphones, billions risk exclusion from the next generation of digital services,” he said.
Badrinath called for coordinated action by policymakers, mobile operators, device manufacturers and component suppliers to reduce affordability pressures.
He urged stakeholders to support affordable components, device reuse, lower taxation and improved distribution systems.
Badrinath warned that failure to address device affordability could undermine progress in digital inclusion and restrict access to education, healthcare, financial services and public services.
He said closing the mobile usage gap could generate 3.5 trillion dollars in additional global economic output between 2023 and 2030.
“More than 90 per cent of the projected benefits would accrue to low- and middle-income countries, Badrinath added.
Badrinath urged governments and businesses to address affordability alongside digital skills, literacy, online safety and relevant local content.
He said affordable smartphone access was becoming an essential condition for inclusive adoption of artificial intelligence.
The director-general also called on chipset and memory manufacturers to engage governments, operators, policymakers and financial institutions on practical solutions to the affordability challenge.
He warned that failure to act could leave billions unable to benefit from the digital economy, even as artificial intelligence continued to transform industries worldwide.
