All research

In India, government initiatives and policy objectives reflect the country's increasing focus on digital sovereignty, with an emphasis on self-reliance in digital technologies. These build on the progress made by Digital India and prioritise the development of digital technologies for social and economic growth.

This fifth report in the series focuses on the barriers people face to adopting mobile internet and using it more, as well as how these differ by country and whether they live in a rural or urban area.

This fourth report in the series goes beyond mobile internet adoption to examine how people actually use mobile internet. It looks at frequency of use, the range of online activities they engage in, and the differences in use across countries and demographics.

This third report in the series examines how network coverage and infrastructure are expanding, and investigates network quality. These factors affect people’s ability to access the internet and their experience when doing so.

This second report in the series explores how mobile internet adoption has evolved since 2015. It examines three areas: the share of the population using mobile internet, the proportion still living outside mobile broadband coverage (the coverage gap), and those who live within mobile broadband coverage but are not yet online (the usage gap).

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2025 considers the importance of not just mobile broadband coverage but ‘meaningful connectivity’ – users having a safe, satisfying, enriching and productive online experience that is affordable in their context. This is the first in the series and summarises the key findings from the other five publications.

Successfully realising ASEAN’s development plans requires concerted efforts by stakeholders to fully leverage the opportunities presented by digitalisation. This report highlights three principal measures to improve digital readiness: bridge the infrastructure gap, accelerate regional policy harmonisation, and leverage international cooperation mechanisms.

By 2030, a significant investment gap will remain in the Pacific Islands unless reform is implemented to unlock investment, improve returns and affordability, and remove the barriers hindering adoption and digital inclusion.

The rapid expansion of digital technologies, and mobile connectivity in particular, has profoundly impacted scam techniques and their reach. All individuals with a mobile subscription – approximately 5.8 billion people – are potential targets for scams. Rises in the volume, frequency, sophistication and success rate of scams in recent years are having a significant financial impact on victims and the global economy.

The recent announcement that the government in Malaysia has granted a second nationwide 5G licence removes what was in effect an infrastructure monopoly and paves the way for a dual-network model. This report highlights how the move to a 5G dual-network model is the right one for customer choice, long-term financial sustainability and Malaysia's competitiveness as a tech and services economy.

Industries worldwide are undergoing significant digital transformation, fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate and interact. At the core of this shift, connectivity is a crucial enabler. While the economic benefits of mobile connectivity are well documented, the broader impact of digital transformation across industries remains less understood. This study offers empirical evidence on how the latest wave of digital technologies is fuelling economic growth.

Mobile connectivity across Asia Pacific has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past 10 years, with significant improvements in download/upload speeds and latency. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this study explores how quality-of-service (QoS) regulations are evolving in the region.

More people than ever before are now accessing the internet through mobile devices. However, the growth rate at which people are adopting mobile internet has remained flat, and significant digital divides persist. Closing these digital divides brings significant socioeconomic benefits and is more crucial than ever.

While the transformative socioeconomic impacts of digital technologies are well established, a digital divide persists in Africa, where around two thirds of the population do not currently use mobile internet. Against this backdrop, the GSMA has launched the Digital Africa Index - an interactive web tool to support policymakers and regulators.

Building on the foundation of the Digital Societies series, this report marks the inaugural edition of the Digital Nations series. It explores the aspiration of governments in Asia Pacific to leverage digital technologies as a means to achieve sustainable, resilient and inclusive economic growth, based on the development of five key components of a digital nation: infrastructure, innovation, data governance, security and people.

To achieve digital inclusion and transformation targets in the Caribbean islands, it is crucial to understand how 4G and 5G connectivity gaps will evolve in the period to 2030 under prevailing market conditions. For this, we quantify the additional investment required to bridge mobile coverage and usage gaps in the Caribbean islands by 2030.

Connectivity is a fundamental requirement in crisis settings, but the needs of crisis-affected communities are often poorly understood, under-appreciated and under-supported. This report explores the connectivity challenges faced by crisis-affected communities and the efforts to bridge the mobile coverage gap in humanitarian settings.

Across Asia Pacific, stakeholders have introduced various measures to improve online safety and build trust. Importantly, the task of maintaining and enhancing trust must be viewed as a shared responsibility between stakeholders, as opposed to the sole responsibility of any single stakeholder. Given the need for open dialogue and cooperation between all parties in the digital ecosystem, this white paper highlights the steps to support existing measures and inspire new ones.

This report assesses the impact of mobile money interoperability by considering the economic literature on interoperability more generally and utilising a case study approach in five mobile money countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania. In each market, we assess how mobile money adoption and usage evolved after different interoperability solutions took effect.

The government of Indonesia is keen to build a digital nation, in which digital technologies help to improve the livelihoods of citizens and drive productivity across the economy. This has been highlighted in several digitalisation plans announced in recent years. This report highlights key policies and actions required to realise the Indonesian government's vision.

To understand the performance of universal service funds (USFs) in Africa, the GSMA conducted an extensive study. This included a survey of stakeholders, including USF authorities, government ministries and service providers. The results highlight structural and operational challenges requiring urgent attention from policymakers and USF authorities.

This study is the first to establish a causal link between the adoption of digital financial services and long-term economic growth. It shows that mobile money had a positive and significant impact on GDP growth between 2013 and 2022.

The State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report 2023 provides the mobile industry and other stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the trends in global connectivity, as well as insights on key barriers to mobile internet adoption and use.

Underpinning the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a shared promise by every country to work together to secure the rights and wellbeing of everyone on a healthy, thriving planet. However, at the halfway point on the way to 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are in deep trouble. This report demonstrates the mobile industry's continued commitment to the goals, and identifies areas where the industry needs to improve or accelerate its actions to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

This latest report in the Digital Societies series examines the five key components of a digital nation (infrastructure, innovation, data governance, security and people) and maps the aspirations of governments in the region to these components. The report considers the role of emerging technologies, such as AI, blockchain, drones and quantum computing, in building digital nations.

In 2020, Ethiopia allowed non-banks to provide mobile money services - a key step in advancing financial inclusion and driving growth. This study looks at the rapidly evolving mobile money ecosystem, and opportunities to boost adoption and usage.

Countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus are undergoing a digital revolution, driven by ambitious government digital transformation initiatives and a general trend towards greater digitalisation, spurred by the pandemic. This report examines eight focus countries in the region and their efforts to close the digital divide.