"African consumers in particular struggle with the cost of 4G-capable devices - the GSMA’s recent Mobile Economy Africa Report for 2025 found that there is still a significant affordability gap, with around 58% of Africans remaining offline because smartphones are too expensive. Together with majo ... r African players MTN, Airtel and Orange, the GSMA has put forward proposals to bring ultra-low cost 4G smartphones priced between $30 and $40 to Africa. Currently, comparable entry-level devices typically cost over $200. But if a $30 smartphone became available overnight in even a handful of African markets, what would be the ramifications – for both Africa’s consumers and its operators?" (Introduction) more

"This report focuses on the difficulties faced by operators in emerging markets looking to deliver data bandwidth cost effectively to challenging locations, including remote communities and busy cities. While the challenges are myriad, improvements in technology are increasingly making the business ... case viable and allowing operators to extend their reach to areas that just a few years ago would have been logistically and financially unfeasible to connect. We have enlisted the help of several experts in this field to discuss the most appropriate and efficient technologies for the various use cases of last mile connectivity." (Foreword) more