Africa and other countries on the continent remain at the bottom of the global digital ladder, with affordability issues stalling broadband penetration and device access. Even the cheapest smartphones are out of reach for millions living on less than $2 a day, leaving the continent with the lowest smartphone penetration worldwide.
Feature Phones Dominate
The State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025 noted that feature phones dominate, with 46 percent of mobile ownership in sub-Saharan Africa compared to just eight percent in high-income countries. Computers are even scarcer. Surveys conducted across 34 African nations show household ownership as low as 11 percent, mirroring the near-absence of fixed broadband.
While fixed broadband subscriptions have surged in Asia and the Middle East, Africa lagged at below one percent. The continent’s transition to advanced mobile technology is equally slow. Only 60 percent of Africans have 4G coverage, and just 11 percent are reached by 5G, a stark contrast to booming 5G rollouts in Asia-Pacific and high-income economies.
Exclusion from Next-Generation Connectivity
This exclusion from next-generation connectivity threatens to widen economic gaps, shutting Africa out of opportunities in artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. At a media meet in Lagos recently, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, said 5G penetration is about 11 percent and its active usage sits lower at roughly five percent of all network connections in Nigeria.
Further, the State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report observed that Africa’s digital revolution is gaining speed, but millions remain excluded. It revealed that mobile Internet coverage now reaches over 90 percent of the population, but only four in ten Africans are online. Affordability barriers, limited device access, and uneven broadband quality continue to widen the digital divide.
Reducing Data Costs
According to the report, reducing data costs is essential, but true inclusion requires more: market liberalisation, digital literacy, and ecosystems that enable productive use of technology. With Internet traffic concentrated in cities, rural areas remain underserved. Targeted investment in rural connectivity, device affordability, and last-mile infrastructure could unlock vast new consumer markets.
Subsea Cables and Infrastructure Investment
The report claimed that new high-capacity subsea cables are reshaping the continent’s digital future. Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya are emerging as hubs, but closing Africa’s infrastructure gap will demand $7 billion yearly in investment. The report noted that public-private collaboration around digital ID, e-payments, and shared fibre models is reducing costs and expanding reach, offering scalable pathways to inclusion.
According to it, data centres, towers, and cloud platforms depend on stable, clean power. Africa’s renewable energy potential—solar, wind, and geothermal—is already powering infrastructure in Kenya and South Africa, positioning the continent for sustainable growth. It stressed that every infrastructure project, from power to transport, must double as a digital enabler. Fibre laid alongside transmission lines, pipelines, and rail corridors is critical to accelerating last-mile connectivity.
