The benefits of mobile connectivity have yet to be fully realised as 43% of the global population – equivalent to 3.45 billion people – still do not use mobile internet, according to the latest GSMA‘State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2024’ report.

While the proportion of the global population using mobile internet on their own device continues to increase annually, the rate of user growth is slowing. 160 million people started using mobile internet last year, similar to 2022 levels but a drop from 2015-2021 when more than 200 million new users were added each year.

The new report – funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) via the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation – highlights the barriers to getting more people using mobile internet services and the ongoing need for collaboration between governments, mobile network operators and international organisations.

Closing the gaps

The latest report outlines the overall connectivity gap – that is, the combination of the usage and coverage gaps – and its findings include:

 . 4.6 billion people (57% of the global population) are now using mobile internet on their own device

 . 350 million people (4% of the global population) live in largely remote areas without mobile internet networks (the coverage gap)

 . 3.1 billion people (39% of the global population) live within mobile internet coverage but do not use it (the usage gap). The usage gap is nine times the size of the coverage gap

The least connected region globally is Sub-Saharan Africa, where only 27% of the population are using mobile internet services, leaving a 13% coverage gap and a 60% usage gap

The biggest challenge remains the usage gap. Getting these people online would be worth an estimated $3.5 trillion to the global economy during 2023-2030, with 90% of this impact benefiting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The coverage gap predominantly exists in rural, poor and sparsely populated areas – often less developed, landlocked, or small island developing states. An estimated $418 billion in investment is needed to build the infrastructure required to achieve universal mobile internet access.

Breaking barriers

For the unconnected in LMICs, device affordability and digital skills and literacy are the main barriers to mobile internet adoption.

In these countries, entry-level internet-enabled devices cost 18% of average monthly income, with this rising to 51% for the world’s poorest 20%. In Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for a quarter of the global unconnected population, this rises to 99% of average monthly income for the region’s poorest 20%.

A lack of digital skills and literacy is the second-biggest barrier overall, but the top issue in Asian countries surveyed as part of the new report. The other established barriers to people using mobile internet are a lack of relevant, localised content and services, concerns over safety and security, and limited access to additional critical infrastructure and services such as electricity.

Enabling meaningful connectivity

While the majority of people who use mobile internet do so daily, it is typically for only a relatively small number of the most popular use cases. An average of 43% of mobile internet users in surveyed countries reported wanting to use it more. A challenge therefore remains in enabling meaningful connectivity and driving true digital inclusion.

Among those already using mobile internet, the most commonly reported barriers to increased usage include safety and security concerns, affordability (particularly of data but also handsets) and the connectivity experience.

Moreover, while the vast majority of people worldwide now access the internet on a 4G or 5G smartphone, one in five mobile internet subscribers are still using 3G smartphones or a feature phone. This reaches more than a third in Latin America & the Caribbean and MENA and almost two thirds in Sub-Saharan Africa, limiting the range and depth of online and digital experience among users.

John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at the GSMA, said: “While progress continues to be made in improving infrastructure and in increasing mobile internet adoption, significant digital divides exist.

“In addition, although most users access mobile internet daily, their activities are often limited to just one or two activities, even though many express a desire to do more.

“This highlights persistent barriers – affordability, lack of skills and literacy, concerns around safety and security and a lack of relevant content and services – that prevent users from getting online and then using mobile internet to meet their life needs once they are online.

“Governments, mobile operators, and international organisations must collaborate to address barriers such as affordability, digital skills, and awareness of mobile internet and the benefits it can provide. This effort must also focus on investing in local, digital ecosystems and ensuring robust online safety frameworks.”

SeerBit, Africa’s most trusted payment solutions provider specialising in innovative services for businesses, has announced a strategic partnership with Sabre, a global leader in software and technology solutions powering the travel industry.

This collaboration will provide Sabre’s clients with access to SeerBit’s powerful payment infrastructure, delivering seamless, secure, and efficient payment processing for transactions and other value-added services across web, mobile, and offline channels.

Despite the travel industry injecting nearly $10 trillion into the global economy in 2023, equivalent to 9.1% of global GDP, significant payment challenges continue to frustrate the growth of the sector.

These challenges include the complexities of cross-border transactions, fragmented payment methods, payment security and fraud, fluctuations and pricing transparency, interoperability, chargebacks and dispute resolution, among others.

The payment challenges in the travel industry call for lasting solutions to bridge existing gaps and unlock the sector’s full growth potential.

Currently, the industry supports 449 million jobs, accounting for 12.2% of the global workforce and is projected to contribute $16 trillion to the global economy by 2034, representing 11.4% of the global economic landscape.

To address these persistent challenges,  SeerBit has joined forces with Sabre to deliver innovative solutions that streamline payment processes and enhance operational efficiency within the travel sector.

With this strategic partnership, Sabre will integrate SeerBit’s solutions into its travel technology platform, enabling airlines, travel agencies, global travel service providers and travelers to process payments faster and more efficiently, while ensuring compliance with local and international regulations.

Making the announcement at a brief parley recently, Omoniyi Kolade, Founder and CEO of SeerBit said, “For us, this combination of advanced payment technologies with innovative travel solutions comes at a pivotal moment in the travel industry.

“Our payment solutions are uniquely designed to simplify complex processes. By integrating with Sabre’s platform, we are providing travel businesses with the tools they need to enhance their services and deliver delightful experiences for their customers.

“We are confident that this collaboration will significantly contribute to the rapid evolution of the global travel ecosystem, particularly by making fast, secure and efficient payment processing accessible for all stakeholders in the value chain.”

“We are delighted to announce our partnership with SeerBit to engineer innovative payment capabilities that empower African travel businesses,” said Dare Olayiwola, Senior Regional Director at Sabre Travel Solutions, Central West Africa.

“Africa is a key growth market for our organisation and we are excited to work closely with SeerBit to support the evolving travel ecosystem across the continent.”

Significantly, the alliance between SeerBit and Sabre is set to bring substantial benefits to the travel industry. With the integration of SeerBit’s advanced payment technology, Sabre’s clients will gain unrivalled efficiency in transactions across multiple platforms and payment options, ensuring real-time, frictionless payments for bookings, reservations, and other services for operators within the travel ecosystem.

SeerBit is a Pan-African payment solutions provider that makes it easier for businesses and financial service providers to make and accept payments from their customers across Africa.

Users have the advantage of enjoying flexible features to fit any business with a single integration.

SeerBit is building a unified payment ecosystem that removes the complexity and fragmentation of the digital payment process in Africa, enabling businesses to seamlessly accept multiple payment methods and streamline online and offline transactions.

The company has operations in multiple African countries with a wide range of solutions developed to drive the adoption of digital payments across the continent.

Sabre Corporation is a leading software and technology company that takes on the biggest opportunities and solves the most complex challenges in travel.

The company connects travel suppliers and buyers around the globe through innovative products and next-generation technology solutions.

Sabre harnesses speed, scale, and insights to build tomorrow’s technology today – empowering airlines, hoteliers, agencies, and other partners to retail, distribute, and fulfill travel worldwide. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre serves customers in more than 160 countries around the world.

Federal government has failed to intervene in the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) debt crisis between the telecom operators and the financial banks in the country.

Karl Toriola, chief executive officer (CEO), MTN Nigeria, said the banks might be disconnected from the USSD platform due to debt arising from the use of the quick codes by their customers, which has now reached N250 billion.

USSD, also known as quick or feature codes, is a global system for mobile communications (GSM) protocol that is used to send text messages and initiate financial transactions such as cash transfers, balance inquiries, payments for services and others.

As at Tuesday, Dr. Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) were taciturn.

But Toriola said mobile network operators (MNOs) might, subject to regulatory approval, suspend supporting the use of the service on the network for banking operations, as the debt had continued to pile up and was becoming unsustainable to the operators.

According to Toriola, the increasing debt is unsustainable for telecommunications companies (telcos).

Also speaking, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), described the services provided by telecommunication firms for banks’ customers to use USSD as commercial and not for social purpose

“The debt has been long overdue and the banks who owe the telcos have more or less turned us to beggars on getting them to pay our debt, so there is no choice. If the regulators do not resolve the matter, what has been foreseen will happen, the services will be withdrawn. We are leaving to the CBN to resolve, if it is not able to resolve this matter, there will be no choice than to withdraw USSD from the banks,” he added.

Deolu Ogunbanjo, a telecom right activist, said Nigerian telecoms’ subscribers should sue the banks if they couldn’t use the USSD for their banking transactions by May ending, according to Daily Trust.

Ogunbanjo, who is the president of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS), said the telcos wouldn’t be doing anything wrong if they eventually disconnect the banks.

Recall that in 2019, telcos sought to charge banks N4.50 for every 20 seconds of USSD usage, but banks opposed this, claiming it would drastically hike transaction costs.

In response to mounting pressures, the operators previously agreed to a new charge of N6.98 per transaction in 2021.

Despite this, the debt has escalated significantly, with Toriola urging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to mediate for a resolution.

He emphasized that if the situation remains unresolved, telcos may have no choice but to seek regulatory approval to cut off banks from USSD services entirely.

Toriola lamented that the telecom sector is in critical condition, likening it to being in the “intensive care unit.”

He warned of dire consequences if the government does not allow necessary tariff adjustments, stating, “If the tariff doesn’t go up, we’ll shut down.”