Global mobile telecommunications industry body the GSMA has partnered with six of Africa’s largest mobile operators – Airtel, Axian Telecom, Ethio Telecom, Orange, and South Africa’s Vodacom and MTN – to develop a set of minimum requirements for an affordable, entry-level smartphone.
The announcement was made at a Mobile World Congress event in Kigali, Rwanda – which began on Tuesday and will conclude on Thursday – and forms part of the GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition. The plan is to get a decent smartphone costing $30 (R520) or less in the hands of mass market consumers in Africa.
“Access to a smartphone is not a luxury – it is a lifeline to essential services, income opportunities and participation in the digital economy. By uniting around a shared vision for affordable 4G devices, Africa’s leading operators and the GSMA are sending a powerful signal to manufacturers and policymakers,” said Vivek Badrinath, director-general of the GSMA, in a statement.
“This is an important step towards bridging the digital divide and ensuring that millions more people can reap the benefits of mobile connectivity.”
The GMSA said smartphone affordability remains “the single largest barrier” to mobile internet adoption in sub-Saharan Africa. A report by the GSMA shows that more than three billion people worldwide have mobile broadband coverage where they live but cannot access it because they can’t afford to purchase internet-capable devices. The partnership with African operators outlines baseline specifications for memory, RAM, camera quality, display size, battery performance and other features to bring a US$30 handset to market.
“GSMA Intelligence estimates that a $40 smartphone could bring mobile internet within reach for an additional 20 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, while a $30 handset could enable up to 50 million to get connected.”
Taxing problem
In South Africa, efforts to bring more affordable 4G-capable handsets to market have been made by both government and industry. Communications minister Solly Malatsi in February met with representatives from the GSMA, World Bank and industry players to discuss the device affordability problem. At this conference, Malatsi echoed an earlier promise that he would meet with national treasury to discuss the removal of ad valorem taxes on smartphone imports into South Africa.
In March, finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced that ad valorem excise duties – which stood at 9% of a devices value on import – would no longer apply to devices costing R2 500 or less. The mobile industry lauded the move, but others criticised its efficacy, arguing that more needs to be done to address affordability more effectively.
Read: Africa has a feature phone problem
Mobile operators, for their part, have been forming partnerships with low-cost smartphone manufacturers and coming up with novel device financing schemes to bring costs down.
MTN in May announced an initiative that planned to distribute 1.2 million 4G smartphones to its users at the cost of R99/device. MTN partnered with Smartphone For All to drive the initiative. In an interview with TechCentral, then-MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi – he was replaced by former MTN Nigeria CEO Ferdi Moorman as part of a management shakeup in August – told TechCentral that MTN and Smartphone For All subsidise the devices on the premise that users who migrate to 4G-capable phones tend to increase their data consumption significantly. But there are other factors pushing mobile operators to migrate more of their users onto smart devices.
“There are four generations of technology (2G, 3G, 4G and 5G) in South African networks and that’s too many layers of technology to manage. You cannot migrate if you still have customers sitting on old technologies like 2G and 3G – and you can’t leave them behind, either. So, what do you do? You have to find different funding models to promote financial inclusion and bring them along,” said Molapisi.
Vodacom faces a similar predicament and in September introduced a low-cost 4G cloud-based phone costing R249. The phone is manufactured by Mobicel and, other than its screen, has a “feature phone” look and feel to it. Smart apps like WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook are provided via cloud services to minimise resource usage. The device has 48MB of RAM and 128MB of storage.
Read: The reason MTN is selling R99 4G smartphones
GSMA in its statement said it will work with its partners to approach smartphone manufacturers and technology companies to discuss the proposed minimum standards they have devised and their feasibility. The GSMA also urged African governments to follow in South Africa’s footsteps by reducing or eliminating taxes associated with smartphones.
“Mobile internet connectivity underpins access to education, healthcare, financial services and e-commerce, and is linked to poverty reduction and higher wellbeing. Closing the usage gap in low- and middle-income countries between 2025 and 2030 could generate $3.5-trillion in additional GDP,” said the GSMA. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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