GSMA and ITU Leaders Call for Joint Efforts to Overcome Barriers to Digital Inclusion

Image: Illustrative image · Bastiaan Quast · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

GSMA and ITU chiefs emphasize tackling smartphone affordability, safety, and trust issues to close the digital divide, highlighting rising component costs and the need for partnerships and inclusive up-skilling.

At the Mobile World Congress 2026 held in Doha, Qatar, the heads of two leading telecommunications organizations, the GSMA and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), stressed the urgent need for collaborative action to address persistent barriers to digital inclusion. Their discussion highlighted the impact of rising smartphone component costs and other challenges that continue to keep many people offline.

Vivek Badrinath, GSMA Director General, acknowledged the increasing difficulty of achieving the longstanding industry goal of delivering smartphones priced below $50. He pointed out that escalating memory prices—particularly due to demand from artificial intelligence applications—had caused RAM costs to double and then increase by an additional 40% over the past year, effectively putting a sub-$50 smartphone out of reach under current conditions.

To improve accessibility, Badrinath advocated for reducing taxes on entry-level smartphones and enhancing circular economy practices to facilitate the reuse and resale of phones, thereby increasing availability. He also emphasized the importance of innovative financing tools to enable people to acquire their first smartphones.

Complementing this, ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin underscored the necessity of ecosystem-wide alignment on inclusion strategies. She warned against a repeat of the digital divide with emerging technologies and highlighted the “usage gap” where individuals have mobile coverage but do not engage with digital services. Affordability of handsets and data plans remains a critical factor in addressing this gap.

Beyond cost considerations, both executives raised non-economic barriers such as safety and trust. Bogdan-Martin cited a recent multinational study revealing that over 60% of girls across 31 countries have experienced online harassment, a factor discouraging internet adoption. Badrinath noted increasing fraud and scams raise the perceived risks of smartphone ownership, acting as impediments to digital participation.

They called for a holistic, cross-sector approach involving social networks, telcos, regulators, and other stakeholders to build safer digital environments and protect users from harm. Furthermore, both leaders highlighted the importance of inclusive digital literacy and up-skilling initiatives, particularly in artificial intelligence, to ensure equitable access to emerging technologies.

This dialogue, part of a session coinciding with the ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference 2026, reflects ongoing industry and regulatory priorities to foster greater inclusion and bridge the divides in digital access and usage worldwide. The full session is available for viewing online, providing deeper insight into these joint commitments to overcoming inclusion barriers in telecommunications.