The continent’s connectivity challenge has evolved from network coverage to smartphone affordability. Unless governments tackle device costs, billions invested in 4G, 5G, fibre and satellite capacity will struggle to deliver their promised economic impact.

Africa’s mobile operators are extending 4G and 5G networks, governments are backing national fibre projects, and new subsea cables are bringing more international capacity to the continent. Yet millions of Africans who live within reach of these networks remain offline.

The problem is increasingly not the absence of a signal. It is the cost of the device required to use it.

Approximately 63% of Africans live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, compared with only 9% who remain outside coverage, according to the GSMA’s 2026 assessment of the continent’s mobile economy. The industry body identifies affordability as the single largest barrier to adoption, alongside gaps in digital skills and other social constraints.

The problem dominated discussions at the fourth Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2026, where a panel examined the infrastructure, financing and policy changes needed to connect more Africans.

The session brought together Muhammed Rudman, Chief Executive Officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria; Abibat Kazeem, Commercial Director, Bayobab Nigeria; Dr Fiona Asonga, Chief Executive Officer, Technology Service Providers Association of Kenya; Alma Nurshaikhova, Senior Digital Specialist, World Bank; Marco Rebecchi, Nokia’s Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana; and Salewa Oyagbola, Associate Director, IHS Towers.

Their contributions highlighted an uncomfortable reality: Africa’s connectivity deficit can no longer be addressed by building networks alone. Coverage, affordable devices, local traffic exchange, cross-border regulation, infrastructure financing and appropriate technology must advance together.

The cost of connecting

Rudman argued that device affordability had become the most significant constraint on meaningful internet adoption.

“All of these factors are important, but the biggest barrier is affordability, particularly the affordability of devices,” he said.

He pointed to the persistence of 2G usage in Nigeria despite continued investment in newer network technologies. Operators may be capable of extending 5G coverage, Rudman said, but many consumers do not own devices that can connect to those networks.

The economics are stark. Nigeria’s statutory minimum wage is N80,000 a month ($58), while an entry-level smartphone can cost roughly the same amount. For informal workers and domestic employees earning considerably less, purchasing a handset outright is often impossible. Consumers must then find additional money for data, electricity and repairs.

The challenge extends far beyond Nigeria. In sub-Saharan Africa, an entry-level internet-enabled device costs the equivalent of 87% of average monthly income for the poorest 20% of the population, according to GSMA research. Rural consumers may pay even more because of transportation costs, distributor margins and limited competition among retailers.  Only 33% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa own a smartphone, compared with approximately 80% in East Asia, the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, according to The World Bank. Among adults without smartphones, cost is the most frequently cited barrier.

Networks without users

The implications reach beyond the telecommunications industry.

African governments increasingly regard broadband as essential infrastructure for financial inclusion, education, healthcare, digital identification, tax administration and public services. Many are also promoting national artificial-intelligence and cloud strategies.

But citizens cannot participate meaningfully in those systems with voice-only handsets or obsolete smartphones that lack sufficient processing power, storage, battery life and software support.

Poor device quality also restricts how people use the internet. Only 44% of mobile internet subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa access services through a 4G- or 5G-capable smartphone. Others rely on feature phones or older 3G devices that cannot adequately support modern applications, video, digital learning platforms or emerging AI tools.

The result is a mismatch between infrastructure investment and consumer participation. Operators invest in faster networks but struggle to generate enough demand to justify further deployment. Governments digitise services, but large portions of the population cannot access them effectively.

Technology companies see a potentially vast market, but one constrained by low purchasing power.

This dynamic risks creating a two-tier digital economy: one in which urban professionals and businesses benefit from cloud services, digital finance and AI-enabled platforms, while lower-income and rural communities remain confined to basic connectivity.

Infrastructure must work as a system

The other panelists placed the affordability problem within a wider infrastructure challenge.

Asonga called for African regulators to harmonise cross-border rules so operators can build and interconnect networks more easily. Without aligned regulations, she warned, traffic that should remain within Africa is routed outside the continent before returning.

Regulatory fragmentation raises the cost of infrastructure. Those costs ultimately affect operators, service providers and consumers.

Nurshaikhova argued that the middle-mile connectivity gap is not caused solely by a shortage of capital. Investors also need clear regulations, viable demand, security and well-structured projects.

Development finance institutions can use blended finance and guarantees to reduce risks and attract private capital, she said, pointing to Nigeria’s proposed 90,000km BRIDGE fibre network as an example of a public-private structure intended to extend broadband infrastructure nationwide.

However, extending fibre will not automatically create adoption if households cannot afford smartphones.

That presents a difficult investment cycle. Low device ownership suppresses demand for data. Weak demand makes rural and middle-mile infrastructure less commercially attractive. Limited investment then reinforces poor service quality and high prices.

Breaking the cycle requires governments to address infrastructure supply and consumer demand simultaneously.

Satellite and fibre are complementary

Oyagbola and Rebecchi also challenged the tendency to present satellite and terrestrial networks as competing solutions.

Oyagbola argued that low-Earth-orbit satellite services can provide connectivity and redundancy in locations where conventional terrestrial infrastructure is difficult or commercially unviable. Satellite operators will still require data centres and fibre networks to store and move traffic, making cooperation with terrestrial providers essential.

IHS Towers, she said, has built more than 17,000km of fibre in Nigeria and close to 600 rural telephony sites, demonstrating the continuing importance of terrestrial infrastructure even as satellite services expand.

Rebecchi described fibre as a superhighway and satellite as an access road that eventually joins it. Satellite can provide backup during fibre cuts, connect underserved communities and help stimulate sufficient demand to justify later fibre investment.

But whichever technology reaches a community, adoption will remain constrained if devices are unaffordable.

Rethinking taxes and financing

Solving the problem will require more than persuading manufacturers to produce cheaper phones.

Taxes, import duties, foreign-exchange constraints, distribution expenses and financing costs all contribute to the final retail price. Governments often treat smartphones as consumer electronics rather than as gateways to essential economic and public services.

That approach may generate short-term customs and tax revenue, but it can suppress adoption and reduce the wider economic activity that connectivity enables.

The GSMA has called on African governments to remove taxes and duties from entry-level smartphones priced below $100. It estimates that targeted tax reductions, expanded device financing and stronger markets for certified pre-owned phones could accelerate adoption.

However, tax reductions alone will not solve the problem. African consumers also need financing structures that reflect irregular incomes.

Traditional device loans are often unavailable to people without formal employment, credit histories or bank accounts. Pay-as-you-go models, operator-backed instalment plans, payroll deductions, microfinance and device-leasing programmes could spread costs over time.

Governments and development finance institutions could help by providing partial guarantees or risk-sharing facilities for responsible device-financing programmes. Mobile operators, banks, fintech companies and manufacturers could then compete to serve customers who cannot afford large upfront payments.

Local assembly may reduce some costs and create jobs, but it should not be treated as a universal answer. Small production volumes, imported components, unreliable electricity and weak supply chains can make locally assembled devices more expensive than imported alternatives.

The goal should be competitive affordability, whether devices are imported or assembled locally.

From coverage targets to usage targets

African connectivity policy has traditionally measured progress through population coverage, kilometres of fibre, spectrum allocations and the number of towers deployed. Those indicators remain important, but they no longer tell the full story.

Governments should also measure smartphone ownership, active mobile internet usage, device quality and the affordability of handsets and data for low-income households.

Public policy must extend beyond the first purchase. Consumers need access to spare parts, repair services, software updates and safe markets for refurbished devices. Digital-literacy programmes and locally relevant services are also necessary if new users are to derive real value from connectivity.

The economic prize is substantial. Mobile technologies and services contributed $240bn to Africa’s economy in 2025, equivalent to 7.8% of the continent’s GDP, according to the GSMA. That contribution is expected to reach $290bn by 2030.

But those projections depend on converting network coverage into meaningful participation.

Africa has spent years asking how to extend broadband infrastructure to more people. The next question is more difficult: how can the people already covered afford the tools required to use it?

Without an answer, the continent may continue building increasingly sophisticated networks for customers who remain unable to connect.