While closing the mobile usage gap has been projected to generate $3.5 trillion in additional global GDP between 2023 and 2030, the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to widen the digital divide and leave large swathes of the global population behind.

The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), which disclosed this in its State of Mobile Internet Connectivity (SOMIC) Report 2026, warned that the world risks creating a new divide between AI “haves” and “have-nots” unless urgent action is taken to address the digital divide and make smartphones affordable for billions of people in low- and middle-income countries.

The GSMA, which represents the global mobile ecosystem, said that while artificial intelligence is transforming economies and societies, its benefits could remain out of reach for more than 3.4 billion people who still do not use mobile Internet, despite more than 90 per cent of them living within mobile broadband coverage.

It said that without affordable smartphones, these people would remain unable to benefit from the AI revolution.

The report highlighted a growing threat to digital inclusion, with a sharp increase in the cost of smartphone memory and chipsets driven by global demand for AI infrastructure and data centres.

These rising component costs are already feeding through into entry-level smartphone prices, placing Internet access further beyond the reach of low-income consumers and threatening years of progress in closing the mobile usage gap.

The GSMA called on chipset and memory manufacturers to take meaningful steps to increase the availability of affordable components for entry-level handsets, warning that a large portion of the population in emerging economies could otherwise be left behind in the digital economy.

It also encouraged manufacturers to engage with the wider mobile ecosystem, policymakers and multilateral financial institutions to identify solutions and bring affordable connectivity within reach of millions.

The Director-General of the GSMA, Vivek Badrinath, said: “Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives on an unprecedented scale, but AI is meaningless if people cannot get online in the first place.

Around 160 million people came online in 2025, down from 190 million the previous year, while 3.1 billion people continue to live within the footprint of mobile broadband networks but do not use mobile Internet, constituting the “usage gap”.

The majority of this group still does not own an Internet-enabled device.

The report identified handset affordability as the single biggest barrier to mobile Internet adoption across surveyed low- and middle-income countries, followed by a lack of digital skills.

By the end of 2025, an entry-level Internet-enabled handset will cost the poorest 20 per cent of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) the equivalent of 44 per cent of their average monthly income, rising to 76 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.

GSMA analysis also showed the scale of the opportunity. Until a year ago, reducing the price of entry-level smartphones to $30 could make devices affordable for almost 1.6 billion people, while a $20 price point could make them affordable for around 2.2 billion people living within mobile broadband coverage.

However, the report warned that achieving those price points is now out of reach as memory costs continue to rise.

According to the report and data from Counterpoint Research, memory prices more than doubled between the third quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 before increasing by a further 80 to 90 per cent during the second quarter of 2026.

The result is already visible in the market, with entry-level smartphone prices increasing sharply and global smartphone shipments forecast to suffer their largest annual decline on record, driven primarily by the collapse of the sub-$100 handset segment.

The GSMA warned that the development threatens not only digital inclusion but also the economic opportunities created by broader Internet adoption.