More than half of the global population, about 54%, or 4.3-billion people, own smartphones, while 4.6-billion people are now using mobile Internet.

Four-billion people, or 49% of the global population, are accessing mobile Internet through smartphones, while 600-million people, representing 8% of the global population, are accessing the Internet using a feature phone, a new report by GSMA reveals.

GSMA’s yearly ‘State of Mobile Internet Connectivity (SOMIC) Report 2023’ points out, however, that, while more people are using mobile Internet than ever before, 3.4-billion people remain unconnected, most of whom are in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

There have been notable achievements and mobile Internet adoption continues to grow; however, the SOMIC report shows progress is slowing and that increased action is required to ensure everybody can access mobile Internet.

About 200-million people started using mobile Internet in 2022, a decline on 300- million in 2021 and 2020.

Only 25% of the population in the world’s least-developed countries use mobile Internet, compared with 52% across LMICs and 85% across high-income countries, according to the report.

“Mobile is the primary – and, in most cases, only – way that most people in LMICs access the Internet. The fact that the growth rate at which people are adopting mobile Internet has slowed is worrying,” says GSMA director- general Mats Granryd.

This lack of connectivity will deprive billions of people of access to vital services and revenue-generating opportunities, which will ultimately impact on poorer, less educated, rural and female users disproportionately, he adds, urging the urgent acceleration of digital inclusion and breaking down of the barriers to stop the digital divide from widening further, amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis and rise in climate-related emergencies.

According to the report, fourth-generation (4G) and fifth-generation (5G) network global expansion has enabled 69% of smartphone owners to access mobile broadband on a 4G-enabled device and 17% on a 5G-enabled device, mostly driven by mature markets such as North America and East Asia and Pacific.

However, second-generation and third- generation (3G) networks remain critical for coverage for millions of users in LMICs.

In sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, 69% and 33% respectively of the smartphones used to access mobile Internet are still only 3G-capable, while, comparatively, the vast majority of smartphones being used in South Asia are 4G-enabled and North America and East Asia and Pacific have the largest base of 5G smartphones.

While the use gap – those not using mobile Internet, yet are covered by a mobile broadband network – has fallen slightly from 40% of the global population in 2021 to 38% in 2022, representing three-billion people, it remains substantial.

According to the report, 95% of the global population live within the footprint of a mobile broadband network.

Comparatively, only 5%, or 400-million, of those not using mobile Internet live in areas without mobile broadband coverage, GSMA shows in the report.

“Regional discrepancies and a digital divide persist. For example, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia represent the regions with the least connected populations and where the use gaps are 59% and 52% respectively,” the SOMIC report points out.

Further, two-thirds of the individuals living within areas covered by a mobile broadband network but are not using mobile Internet do not own a mobile phone, highlighting the importance of tackling issues such as handset affordability.