A new report from GSMA Intelligence, produced in collaboration with Huawei, reveals that digital literacy—not mobile broadband coverage—is the primary obstacle keeping 3.1 billion people offline. The report, titled Bridging the Divide: Enhancing Digital Literacy in the AI Era, was released at UNESCO's Digital Learning Week and warns that without targeted interventions, the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could deepen existing inequalities.
According to the research, 38% of the global population lives in areas covered by mobile broadband but remains offline due to a lack of digital skills, trust, and AI literacy. While physical coverage reaches 96% of people worldwide, the usage gap persists. Closing this capability gap could boost global GDP by $3.5 trillion from 2023 to 2030, with more than 90% of those gains flowing to low- and middle-income countries.
AI presents both opportunities and risks. Voice assistants and multimodal applications can help low-literacy users bypass text input, but they also raise the bar for security and critical thinking. Users must now understand data privacy and identify threats such as fraud and deepfakes. The report cites World Bank data showing that generative AI literacy carries the highest wage premium—up to 36%—far exceeding returns for basic digital or traditional AI skills.
The authors emphasize that without basic digital training, AI adoption could entrench inequalities even in fully covered areas. They highlight community-based delivery models, such as Huawei's Skills on Wheels initiative, which uses solar-powered DigiTruck mobile classrooms to bring hardware, connectivity, and hands-on training—including AI literacy—to off-grid regions. Since 2019, these programs have reached over 130,000 people across 21 countries. A report by Kenya's Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy found that 79% of DigiTruck trainees passed on their new skills to family and peers.
To bridge the usage gap, the report urges policymakers, telecom operators, and technology vendors to prioritize four actions: treating practical AI awareness, online safety, and information verification as a baseline national qualification; adopting multilingual voice and conversational interfaces in public services; scaling mobile learning units through cross-sector partnerships; and measuring performance by independent task completion and fraud resilience rather than trainee numbers.
"Digital literacy can no longer be defined by static thresholds," said Tim Hatt, head of research and consultancy at GSMA Intelligence. "Connectivity alone is insufficient—capabilities, system design and trust must evolve together. To capture this multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, stakeholders must integrate layered AI literacy directly into daily livelihoods through trusted community channels."
Gavin Allen, Executive Editor-in-Chief at Huawei, added, "Mobile classrooms have demonstrated immense value in helping underserved populations break through physical and psychological barriers to technology. We will continue working alongside local governments and industry partners to drive digital literacy, ensuring that no one is left behind as we transition into the AI economy."
A new DigiTruck program will launch in France this autumn, targeting low-income and underserved communities in several cities across the Île-de-France region. The full report is available on the GSMA Intelligence research portal.
