About 2.5 billion people lack internet access: How connectivity can unlock their potential

In an increasingly digital world, connectivity creates possibilities for people everywhere. Yet despite mobile network coverage extending to 92% of the world, more than 2.5 billion people still lack internet access.

This gap is a significant missed opportunity to address global challenges related to sustainable development — and fixing it starts early. An Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report underscores the importance of school connectivity in enhancing learning outcomes and boosting economies. The report found that in the least developed countries, a 10% increase in school connectivity can improve children's effective years of schooling by 0.6% and increase GDP per capita by 1.1%. These figures emphasize the central role of digital education in fostering economic development and improving quality of life.

The importance of digital inclusion in bolstering these outcomes is why the Edison Alliance — a collaborative initiative convened to foster global digital inclusion — aims to connect 1 billion people to essential digital services like healthcare, education and finance by 2025. Convened by the World Economic Forum alongside partners including Ericsson, the Edison Alliance is already seeing results in its effort to improve lives globally through digital inclusion.

The Alliance recently announced that it has already reached its ambitious milestone, demonstrating the Alliance’s power to affect positive change. But there is still much more to do to ensure that everyone has access to the benefits of digitalization and connectivity.

While connectivity and digital literacy are essential foundations, children in school today also need to develop the kinds of high-level digital skills that will ensure their success. An understanding of programming and coding, for example, is known to encourage underrepresented groups to pursue advanced ICT education and enter STEM fields.

Ericsson, a key member of the Edison Alliance, has been working to deliver on the Alliance's goals around the world, helping to build these kinds of skills in newly connected students. Ericsson’s digital learning and skills development programme, Connect to Learn, has reached 485,000 students across 43 countries to date. The company has also partnered with UNICEF and ITU to support the Giga initiative. Giga helped provide 7.79 million students in over 14,500 schools with increased access to connectivity.

The company’s experience could help to inform the strategy of other impact-focused enterprises. Here are two case studies:

As industries become increasingly digitalized, governments, industries and academic institutions must work together to build a skilled 5G-ready workforce. It is therefore, essential to bridge the gap between the skills of workers and the skills sought by companies to address the realities of a digital economy

In collaboration with the Malaysian government, Ericsson is providing free access to its Ericsson Educate global portal as part of the government’s Let’s Learn Digital programme. This includes customized content for all Malaysian tertiary-level students and the workforce. The content focuses on areas such as digital services, 5G, telecommunications, AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and machine learning.

The rollout of 5G networks and growth in the manufacturing sector in India have created a demand for new skills in the telecom sector. In collaboration with the Indian Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC), Ericsson launched a Center of Excellence at the Delhi Skill & Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) to address this skills gap by offering world-class training and development. In its first year, the programme trained around 300 students, providing them with valuable career opportunities in the telecom industry.

While education is a key focus for Edison Alliance, connectivity also plays a crucial role in financial inclusion. In this area, mobile telecom operators initially focused on providing banking services like money transfers and small loans to those without bank access.

Today, they are among the main providers of increasingly sophisticated financial services that help families save more and build financial stability. With more than 114 million active users in 24 countries and over 3 billion transactions worth $43 billion processed every month, Ericsson’s Mobile Financial Services solutions show how connectivity can drive financial inclusion.

Mobile-based financial solutions record transactions electronically, making payments more secure. This increases transparency and helps formalize the economy. According to Juniper Research’s Digital Wallets report, the total value of digital wallet transactions is expected to rise from $9 trillion in 2023 to more than $16 trillion in 2028. At the same time, the number of digital wallet users globally will rise from 3.7 billion in 2023 to 5.4 billion in 2028.

In Pakistan, Easypaisa, a mobile wallet developed by Telenor Microfinance Bank in partnership with Ericsson, has transformed Pakistan’s financial landscape with advanced financial solutions such as innovative APIs, "MiniApp" features and buy now, pay later services that are driving technological innovation and contributing significantly to the digital economy.

As we approach the 2030 deadline for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development goals, the urgency to harness the power of connectivity has never been greater.

The Edison Alliance milestone of 1 billion connections is a strong step — but time is of the essence. The power of connectivity must continue to be a fundamental enabler to achieve the sustainable development of society and improve lives for billions across the globe.