Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      The transatlantic race to create the first television

      20 June 2025

      Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

      19 June 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      19 June 2025

      WhatsApp founders hated ads – Meta is adding them anyway

      19 June 2025

      China’s car factories run cold as price war masks deep overcapacity

      19 June 2025
    • World

      Watch | Starship rocket explodes in setback to Musk’s Mars mission

      19 June 2025

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Beijing’s chip champions blacklisted by Taiwan

      16 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | AfriGIS’s Helen Hulett on how tech can help resolve South Africa’s water crisis

      18 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E2: South Africa’s digital battlefield

      16 June 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025
    • Opinion

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Sections » Half of all people on Earth are now connected to the Internet via mobile

    Half of all people on Earth are now connected to the Internet via mobile

    By Duncan McLeod28 September 2021
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    More than 50% of people on Earth are now connected to the Internet via their mobile devices, a new report from the GSMA, a mobile industry association, shows.

    The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2021 has found that just over four billion people — 225 million more compared with 2019 and up from a third of people globally just six years ago – are now connecting to the Internet using their mobiles.

    The picture is less rosy in sub-Saharan Africa, however: In this region, more than 500 million people who live in areas with mobile broadband coverage are not using the Internet. This is despite substantial increases in network coverage and performance and a sharp reduction in prices in recent years. Also, significant gender and rural-urban gaps exist in the region, with women 37% less likely to use the mobile Internet than men.

    Mobile is the primary and often the only way to access the internet in low- and middle-income countries

    Worldwide, the GSMA found that 3.4 billion people do not use the mobile Internet despite living in areas with mobile broadband coverage.

    “Mobile is the primary and often the only way to access the internet in low- and middle-income countries,” the association said in a statement. “While more people than ever are now using the mobile Internet, some fundamental barriers stop far too many people from using it.”

    “We must address the key barriers to usage of mobile Internet services, most notably literacy and digital skills, as well as affordability. Only through targeted and collaborative action can we bridge the digital divide,” said GSMA chief regulatory officer John Giusti.

    Other key figures from the report include:

    • In 2014, almost a quarter of the world’s population did not have access to a mobile broadband network. By the end of 2020, that figure was only 6%.
    • In 2020, global coverage increased by one percentage point, from 93% to 94%, compared to 2019. This reduced the number of people living in areas without a mobile broadband network to 450 million. Those who remain uncovered typically live in sparsely populated rural areas with difficult terrain.
    • The number of people using mobile Internet has increased for the second year in a row. However, the usage gap remains large and accounts for the majority of the unconnected.
    • In 2020, 3.4 billion people (43% of the world’s population) lived within the footprint of a mobile broadband network but were not accessing mobile Internet services. Although the usage gap is narrowing, it is now seven times larger than the coverage gap. In 2014, the usage gap accounted for 64% of the total unconnected population – this figure grew to 88% by 2020 due to the increase in mobile broadband coverage.
    • Low- and middle-income countries now account for almost 93% of the world’s unconnected population and more than 98% of the uncovered population. Between 2019 and 2020, the most significant increase in mobile Internet usage was in East Asia (61%), which grew by 4%.  — © 2021 NewsCentral Media


    GSMA John Giusti
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleNaspers weighing up compulsory jabs for South African employees
    Next Article Green energy plan could save South Africa R100-billion

    Related Posts

    South Africa among world’s most cost-effective for mobile spectrum

    18 May 2025

    MTN’s Ralph Mupita named as deputy chair of the GSMA

    3 April 2025

    MWC Barcelona and tomorrow’s connected tech – bridging innovation and regulation

    31 March 2025
    Company News

    Making IT happen: how Trade Link gears up to enable SA retail strategies

    20 June 2025

    Why parents choose CambriLearn for online education

    19 June 2025

    Disrupt first, ask questions later – the uncomfortable truth about incident response

    18 June 2025
    Opinion

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    AI and the future of ICT distribution

    16 June 2025

    Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

    13 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.