The Global System for Mobile Communications Association, GSMA, has warned that high costs of smartphone components could threaten digital inclusion in emerging markets, including Nigeria, as internet-enabled devices become less affordable.
The association emphasised this in its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2026, released on Wednesday, saying handset affordability was the biggest barrier to mobile internet adoption across surveyed low- and middle-income countries.
The report noted that over 3.4 billion people globally still do not use mobile internet, despite living in areas with mobile broadband coverage.
According to the report, most people excluded from mobile internet lack affordable internet-enabled devices rather than network coverage.
It said the poorest 20% of people in low- and middle-income countries spent an average of 44% of their monthly income on entry-level smartphones.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the cost rose to 76% of average monthly income, placing basic digital access beyond the reach of many households.
GSMA said worsening affordability is being driven by a sharp surge in memory and chipset prices, largely fuelled by growing demand from AI infrastructure and data centres.
The association noted that memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, while increasing by another 80% to 90% during the second quarter, further raising production costs for entry-level smartphones.
It said the increase was already feeding into retail prices and threatening the market for smartphones priced below $100.
GSMA warned that emerging markets, including Nigeria, could be disproportionately affected because low-income consumers depend heavily on affordable devices.
The report said 4.8 billion people now use mobile internet on their own devices, but growth has slowed significantly.
Meanwhile, Vivek Badrinath, GSMA director-general, said the benefits of artificial intelligence would remain limited for people who cannot afford to get online.
“AI is meaningless if people cannot get online in the first place,” Badrinath said.
He said the digital divide was increasingly becoming a divide between people who could afford to participate in the digital economy and those who could not.
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“Unless we protect the affordability of entry-level smartphones, billions risk exclusion from the next generation of digital services,” he said.
The director-general called for coordinated action among policymakers, mobile operators, device manufacturers and component suppliers, including support for affordable components, device reuse, lower taxation and improved distribution systems.
The GSMA report comes as Nigeria continues to face a gap between widespread mobile network coverage and actual internet usage.
