GSMA warns rising smartphone costs could deepen Nigeria’s mobile internet gap
The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has warned that rising smartphone component costs could threaten digital inclusion as internet-enabled devices become less affordable in emerging markets, including Nigeria. The post GSMA warns rising smartphone costs could deepen Nigeria’s mobile internet gap appeared first on Nairametrics .
The GSMA has issued a warning that escalating smartphone component costs could exacerbate Nigeria’s mobile internet divide. In its 2026 State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report, the association highlighted that handset affordability is the most significant barrier to mobile internet adoption in low- and middle-income countries, with over 3.4 billion people globally still unconnected.
In Nigeria, where broadband penetration has reached 50%, the report underscores that the poorest 20% of the population spends an average of 44% of their monthly income on entry-level smartphones, a figure rising to 76% in Sub-Saharan Africa. This affordability issue is further strained by the surge in memory and chipset costs, driven by the burgeoning demand for AI infrastructure and data centers.
GSMA’s call for coordinated action among policymakers, mobile operators, device manufacturers, and component suppliers emphasizes the urgency of addressing device affordability to prevent the digital divide from becoming a barrier to essential services such as education, healthcare, and financial services.
Brief written by urgent.news from Nairametrics's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
