. Mupita claims Nigerians’ data use rises about 30% yearly

Global smartphone markets are feeling the pinch as a scarcity of memory chips pushes the price of entry-level devices to between $80 and $100, according to MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita.

The shortage, driven by supply chain disruptions and rising demand for semiconductors, is reshaping affordability in emerging markets where low-cost smartphones are critical for digital inclusion.

Mupita noted that the squeeze on component availability has not only raised costs but also led to a decline in shipment volumes, particularly in Africa and other developing regions. He said the trend could slow smartphone penetration, widen the digital divide, and place additional pressure on manufacturers to innovate around cost efficiency and supply resilience.

The MTN Group boss, who disclosed this yesterday during a chat with the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MIP) Alumni in Lagos, said this issue was among the key issues discussed at a recent GSMA board meeting in New Delhi, India, where he serves as vice chairman.

He said that an 80 per cent surge in memory chip prices has caused smartphone shipments to Africa to decline by 27 per cent, thereby threatening efforts to expand digital inclusion and accelerate internet adoption across the continent.

He said the minimum price of a data-capable smartphone, which was previously projected at between $30 and $50, could now rise to between $80 and $100 because of the rising memory costs.

The MTN chief attributed the development partly to the growing demand for silicon and memory chips from artificial intelligence companies building big data centres and developing graphics processing units (GPUs) to power AI technologies.

According to him, these AI companies have increased the competition for silicon, which is also required by handset manufacturers, noting that the United States government has also invested $10 trillion to build AI data centres and the related infrastructure.

Mupita said this competition has pushed up component prices, making affordable smartphones increasingly difficult to obtain, particularly in Africa.

He said the cost of devices had become a more pressing challenge to digital inclusion than data prices, despite the substantial progress mobile network operators had made in expanding network coverage over the past 30 years.

Mupita said the real big difficulty today is the cost of devices, explaining that while mobile networks had made significant progress in reaching the world’s more than eight billion people, the affordability of Internet-enabled devices remained a major obstacle.

The MTN chief added that some African countries were responding by removing import duties and other taxes on smartphones, as they’re beginning to recognise that access to digital devices and internet services could improve productivity and contribute several percentage points to economic growth.

Mupita said initiatives involving the World Bank and other institutions were also being explored to make smartphones available at lower prices.

Mupita said the discussions at GSMA identified device affordability, digital trust, the integration of satellite and terrestrial networks, and increased investment in digital infrastructure and sovereignty as four major issues shaping the global telecommunications industry.

He said these discussions were particularly important to Nigeria and the entire continent given the region’s digital inclusion challenges and growing demand for connectivity.

The MTN chief advocated for increased investment in digital infrastructure over the next five to 10 years to support rising Internet usage, connectivity and growing demand for network capacity.

He said telecommunications operators needed to expand fibre infrastructure and strengthen their networks to accommodate increasing volumes of data and digital workloads.

According to Mupita, the average Nigerian’s data consumption grows by about 30 per cent yearly, requiring operators to continually invest in additional capacity.

He placed Nigeria’s average monthly data consumption per user in the mid-to-high teens in gigabytes, while MTN Ghana’s average was in the low 20-gigabyte range.

Mupita said the figures illustrated the need for appropriate market structures and regulatory frameworks that would encourage investment while supporting consumers’ increasing use of digital services.

Speaking on Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, the MTN chief said the global telecommunications industry was debating how satellite-based services could complement terrestrial mobile networks to extend connectivity to underserved and geographically remote communities.

Mupita explained that mobile operators had invested heavily in wireless infrastructure and fibre networks, noting that some locations remained commercially difficult to reach with conventional mobile infrastructure, particularly the 5G fibre.

He said the integration of terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks remained a major issue being considered by the global telecommunications industry.

According to him, LEO satellites, including services provided by Starlink and OneWeb, could help bridge those gaps.