2024-07-10 13:45:20
(Reuters) – Telecommunications industry group GSMA announced on Wednesday a global coalition of companies, organizations and financial institutions that will seek to make smartphones more accessible and affordable for some of the world’s poorest populations.
The coalition will consist of mobile operators and providers and global institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations agency ITU and the WEF Edison Alliance, the GSMA said in a statement.
These institutions will evaluate ways to reduce the cost of entry into the digital economy for low-income populations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the statement said.
“Device accessibility is often identified as the most significant barrier to getting people online,” said the GSMA.
The group added that mobile phones are often the only way for people in low- and middle-income countries to access the internet, with 38% of the world’s population living in areas that cannot use mobile internet due to barriers such as high cost. .
“The coalition will work together to improve access to internet-enabled devices to close the ‘use gap’ that prevents an estimated three billion people around the world from maximizing their potential in the global digital economy, ” he said.
(Reporting by Olivier Sorgho in Gdansk)
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