The growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant threat to widening the digital divide, leaving billions of people in low- and middle-income countries behind. According to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the world risks creating a new divide between AI "haves" and "have-nots" unless urgent action is taken to address the digital divide and make smartphones affordable. The GSMA's State of Mobile Internet Connectivity (SOMIC) Report 2026 highlights the growing threat to digital inclusion.
The report notes that while AI is transforming economies and societies, its benefits may remain out of reach for over 3.4 billion people who still do not use mobile Internet, despite living within mobile broadband coverage. Without affordable smartphones, these individuals will remain unable to benefit from the AI revolution. The GSMA emphasizes that closing the mobile usage gap could generate $3.5 trillion in additional global GDP between 2023 and 2030.
A significant barrier to mobile Internet adoption is the affordability of entry-level smartphones. The report identifies handset affordability as the single 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 will cost the poorest 20 percent of people in low- and middle-income countries the equivalent of 44 percent of their average monthly income.
The GSMA attributes the increasing cost of smartphones to the rising component costs driven by global demand for AI infrastructure and data centers. Memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, before increasing by a further 80 to 90 percent during the second quarter of 2026. This has resulted in a sharp increase in entry-level smartphone prices, placing Internet access further beyond the reach of low-income consumers.
The Director-General of the GSMA, Vivek Badrinath, emphasizes that AI is meaningless if people cannot get online in the first place. Around 160 million people came online in 2025, down from 190 million the previous year, while 3.1 billion people continue to live within the footprint of mobile broadband networks but do not use mobile Internet. The majority of this group still does not own an Internet-enabled device.
The GSMA is calling on chipset and memory manufacturers to take meaningful steps to increase the availability of affordable components for entry-level handsets. The organization also encourages manufacturers to engage with the wider mobile ecosystem, policymakers, and multilateral financial institutions to identify solutions and bring affordable connectivity within reach of millions.
GSMA analysis shows that reducing the price of entry-level smartphones to $30 could make devices affordable for almost 1.6 billion people, while a $20 price point could make them affordable for around 2.2 billion people living within mobile broadband coverage. However, achieving those price points is now out of reach due to rising memory costs, threatening not only digital inclusion but also the economic opportunities created by broader Internet adoption.
Key points
- The growing influence of AI poses a significant threat to widening the digital divide.
- The affordability of entry-level smartphones is a significant barrier to mobile Internet adoption.
- The GSMA is calling on manufacturers to take steps to increase the availability of affordable components for entry-level handsets.
