By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
Côte d’Ivoire has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the GSMA to improve smartphone
affordability and expand access to mobile internet, with the National Agency
for Universal Telecommunications/ICT Service (ANSUT) leading implementation
under the GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition.
The agreement was signed at
Mobile World Congress (MWC) Doha by Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the
GSMA, and Djibril Ouattara, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Digital Transition and
Technology Innovation.
The partnership seeks to
address the cost of smartphones, which remains a significant barrier to mobile
internet adoption, particularly among people who live within reach of mobile
broadband networks but do not use mobile internet.
According to the GSMA, 3.1
billion people globally live within reach of mobile broadband but do not use
mobile internet, and most of them do not own a smartphone.
The initiative forms part of
the GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition, which brings together mobile network
operators, device manufacturers, international organisations and financial
institutions to help make affordable smartphones available at scale.
Through the agreement, ANSUT
will lead implementation in Côte d’Ivoire, supporting efforts to address
affordability barriers and broaden access to smartphones.
