A Vodafone and the specialized agency of United Nations in information and communication technologies, they launched a new initiative to bridge the global digital divide, with the goal that an additional 3,4 billion people will be able to access and use the internet through a smartphone by 2030.
Of the 3,7 billion people who are not connected to the internet, 3,4 billion live within range of mobile networks but are currently not accessing the internet, in part due to lack of ownership of a smartphone.
With mobile broadband (4G) networks now covering 82% of the population of Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), the mobile usage gap is 6 times larger than the mobile coverage gap. In line with the Broadband Commission's 2025 global targets on accessibility and connectivity, the new Working Group will identify policies, commercial and circular economy interventions to increase access to smartphones.
The pledge by the United Nations, Vodafone Group Plc and the ITU to increase smartphone access to 3,4 billion people worldwide is timely and important. As Vodacom works to connect the next 100 million Africans through its “Africa.Connected”, where they hope to support Vodafone's ambition to ensure that no one is excluded from the global digital economy and can access education, public employment and financial services.”
The smartphone is responsible for 86% of internet connections in LMICs, emphasizing the importance of mobile phones in addressing this issue. Even so, billions of people continue to use phones with less-smart features, without an Internet connection, and the 2G market continues to grow.
This means that the digital divide is widening as the global pandemic has accelerated the emergence of digital societies and smartphones are increasingly an essential gateway to accessing public services – including education and medical support – financial services, jobs and administration companies.
Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group, said: “Vodafone is honored to be part of this monumental global initiative with the UN to improve the lives of billions of people through smartphone access. This is such a complex challenge that no network operator, device manufacturer, financial services provider or national government can solve it on their own – but working together we can break down the barriers. "
The Broadband Commission Working Group will produce a report and a set of concrete recommendations, including:
- original analysis and data on smartphone access gap;
- quantifying the social and economic impact of providing everyone with smartphone access by 2030, including assessing the shift from 2G phone users to 4G smartphones;
- analysis of initiatives or pilots designed to increase smartphone access. The Vodafone Group has committed to launching two pilot projects on device accessibility as part of this process.
To coincide with the creation of the new Working Group, Vodafone, Vodacom and Safaricom also published the second report Africa.Connected on 4G acceleration for Sub-Saharan Africa.
