The GSMA has warned that rising smartphone component costs could deepen the global digital divide and prevent billions of people in low- and middle-income countries from participating in the growing AI economy.
The warning comes in the GSMA’s State of Mobile Internet Connectivity (SOMIC) Report 2026, which highlights smartphone affordability as a major barrier to mobile internet adoption. While artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into economies and essential services, millions of people remain unable to access the internet because they cannot afford internet-enabled devices.
According to the report, 4.8 billion people now use mobile internet on their own devices. However, growth is slowing, with around 160 million people coming online in 2025 compared with 190 million in 2024.
At the same time, about 3.1 billion people live within areas covered by mobile broadband networks but do not use mobile internet. This group represents the mobile internet usage gap, with many people still lacking an internet-enabled device.
The GSMA identified handset affordability as the biggest barrier to mobile internet adoption across surveyed low- and middle-income countries, followed by a lack of digital skills.
By the end of 2025, an entry-level internet-enabled handset cost the poorest 20% of people in low- and middle-income countries an equivalent of 44% of their average monthly income. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the figure reached 76%, with the GSMA warning that increasing memory costs could push prices even higher.
The report points to growing pressure from the global AI infrastructure boom. Demand for memory and chipsets from AI infrastructure and data centres has contributed to sharp increases in component prices, with memory prices more than doubling between Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 before rising by another 80–90% in Q2 2026.
These increases are already affecting entry-level smartphone prices, while global smartphone shipments are forecast to experience their largest annual decline on record, with the sub-$100 handset segment expected to be particularly affected. Emerging markets are likely to face some of the greatest impact.
The GSMA estimates that until recently, reducing entry-level smartphone prices to $30 could have made devices affordable for nearly 1.6 billion people, while a $20 price point could have expanded affordability to around 2.2 billion people living within mobile broadband coverage. The organisation now warns that rising memory costs are making those price targets increasingly difficult to achieve.
GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath called for coordinated action involving policymakers, mobile operators, device manufacturers and component suppliers to protect the affordability of entry-level smartphones.
The organisation is also calling on chipset and memory manufacturers to increase the availability of affordable components and work with the wider mobile ecosystem, policymakers and financial institutions to identify solutions.
The stakes extend beyond internet access. Previous GSMA analysis estimates that closing the mobile usage gap could generate $3.5 trillion in additional GDP between 2023 and 2030, with more than 90% of the benefits flowing to low- and middle-income countries.
As AI-powered services expand across healthcare, education, financial services and government, the GSMA argues that affordable smartphones will be essential to ensuring that AI adoption is inclusive rather than creating a new divide between those who can afford to participate and those
