The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) has formalised partnerships with six African countries to pilot affordable 4G smartphones this year, marking the most concrete step yet toward putting internet-connected devices in the hands of hundreds of millions of people currently priced out of mobile connectivity.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at MWC26 in Barcelona on Monday brings together the GSMA, a group of six leading African mobile operators, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to pilot entry-level 4G smartphones in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda in 2026. The agreement builds on minimum device requirements unveiled at MWC Kigali in 2025 and represents the first move from industry alignment into on-the-ground implementation.
The GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition, which backs the initiative, includes the World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Edison Alliance, among others. The target price band for pilot devices sits between USD 30 and USD 40, a threshold the GSMA calculates could bring affordable connectivity to over a billion people currently excluded by cost.
GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath said the partnership with Africa’s operators was sending a commercial signal to device makers that the market is real. “3.1 billion people have mobile coverage but are not connected to the mobile internet. Together with the G6 group of leading African operators, we are sending a clear demand signal to bring low-cost 4G devices to market,” Badrinath said.
However, a recent surge in global memory chip prices is making it increasingly difficult to manufacture handsets within the target price band. The GSMA has called on governments to eliminate taxes and import duties on entry-level 4G smartphones as the single most effective policy lever available to close the gap. South Africa’s decision to scrap luxury taxes on lower-priced smartphones has been cited as a model for other governments to follow.
Badrinath also linked device affordability directly to artificial intelligence (AI) access, warning that without low-cost hardware capable of supporting on-device AI processing and local language models, the benefits of AI-driven services risk remaining out of reach for most Africans. A live demonstration of an open Swahili reasoning model, developed in collaboration with MeetKai Zambia and capable of browsing and translating online content, was showcased at the Africa Pavilion during MWC26.
The GSMA and coalition partners are scheduled to reconvene at MWC Kigali on 16 to 18 June to review pilot progress and advance discussions on regulatory frameworks and locally relevant AI development.
