The Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA) has urged African governments to lower the cost of smartphones to accelerate digital inclusion across the continent.

The association warned that about 961 million Africans remain unable to use mobile broadband services despite living in areas already covered by network infrastructure.

GSMA said reducing taxes on entry-level smartphones and implementing other policy reforms would help close the continent’s digital usage gap, accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and deepen digital inclusion.

The call was made on Wednesday at the Digital Africa Summit Workshop held in Abuja as part of activities at the ongoing African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries.

Speaking at the workshop, GSMA’s Senior Director for Public Policy, Africa, Caroline Mbugua, said Africa was entering what she described as the “era of intelligence,” where access to affordable smartphones and reliable connectivity would determine how much countries benefit from AI-driven development.

She explained that although mobile broadband infrastructure already covers a large segment of Africa’s population, affordability remains the biggest barrier to adoption.

“We have a whole 961 million Africans that are covered by mobile broadband services but are not using the service. This is what we refer to as the usage gap. If this remains unaddressed, it means this number will be left behind when it comes to the adoption of AI,” she said.

According to Mbugua, governments should prioritise fiscal reforms, particularly by reducing taxes on entry-level smartphones, to make devices more affordable for millions of first-time users.

She cited South Africa as an example, noting that the removal of a nine per cent luxury goods tax on entry-level smartphones significantly accelerated smartphone adoption while reducing dependence on feature phones.

“We have seen that there is demand for smartphones. Customers are willing to use the service. Affordability is the challenge,” she added.

Mbugua also highlighted Africa’s remaining connectivity gap, saying about nine per cent of the continent still lacks mobile broadband coverage, largely because rural and remote communities are expensive to serve.

According to her, research shows that deploying telecommunications infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas can cost between two and five times more than urban locations while generating up to ten times less revenue, making such investments commercially challenging.

To bridge the gap, she urged governments to adopt technology-neutral regulatory frameworks that would allow operators to deploy the most suitable technologies, including satellite services, to extend connectivity to underserved communities.

She also advocated regulatory parity, insisting that providers offering the same communications services should be subject to the same regulatory obligations.

“Same service, same rules. That ensures competition is not distorted and consumers benefit from innovative and affordable solutions,” she said.

The GSMA executive unveiled the organisation’s Digital Africa Index, describing it as a data-driven tool that enables policymakers and regulators to assess the level of digitalisation in African markets and identify reforms needed to improve connectivity and investment.

She noted that while Nigeria performed strongly in several indicators, there remained room for improvement through evidence-based policymaking.

Mbugua further disclosed that GSMA would publish its AI Atlas initiative aimed at integrating more African languages into large language models to improve digital inclusion and reduce language barriers in artificial intelligence.

She said Nigeria is among the countries participating in the initiative, with four indigenous languages already incorporated into the platform.

Also speaking, GSMA’s Head of Policy and Regulation, Michaela Angonius, called on African governments to modernise telecommunications licensing by replacing technology-specific licences with technology-neutral authorisation systems capable of accommodating emerging technologies such as satellite communications.

She also urged governments to review Universal Service Funds (USFs), noting that large portions of the funds remain unused despite operators continuing to pay levies that ultimately increase the cost of telecommunications services for consumers.

“A lot of Universal Service Funds are unused. That effectively becomes an additional tax on the industry, which raises prices for end users,” she said.

Angonius reiterated the need to remove or reduce taxes on entry-level smartphones, describing the move as one of the fastest ways to improve affordability and encourage first-time smartphone ownership across Africa.

Speaking earlier, the Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union, John Omo, said evidence-based policymaking would be critical to accelerating Africa’s digital transformation.

He cited findings from the 2026 GSMA Mobile Economy Africa Report, which showed that mobile technologies and services contributed $240 billion to Africa’s economy, supported 13 million jobs, and generated $45 billion in public revenues.

Omo noted that while expanding network coverage remains important, affordability, digital skills, consumer trust and access to relevant digital services would ultimately determine whether connectivity translates into meaningful economic and social development.

He urged regulators and policymakers across the continent to make greater use of the Digital Africa Index in shaping future reforms and strengthening collaboration to advance Africa’s digital economy.