More than one in three people worldwide remains offline despite living within mobile broadband coverage, highlighting a shift in the digital divide from network availability to people’s ability to use digital services safely and effectively.
A new report from GSMA Intelligence, produced in collaboration with Huawei and unveiled during UNESCO’s Digital Learning Week, estimates that 3.1 billion people are affected by a usage gap linked to a lack of digital skills, user trust and emerging AI literacy.
The report, Bridging the Divide: Enhancing Digital Literacy in the AI Era, estimates that closing this capability gap could add around $3.5 trillion to global GDP between 2023 and 2030, with more than 90% of those gains flowing to low- and middle-income countries.
The finding comes as mobile broadband coverage reaches 96% of the world’s population. With physical connectivity increasingly widespread, the report argues that the next challenge is ensuring people have the skills and confidence to make meaningful use of that connectivity.
AI creates new opportunities — and new risks
Artificial intelligence could help address some aspects of the digital literacy challenge while simultaneously creating new requirements for users.
The report points to AI-powered voice assistants and applications that work with images, audio and video as tools that could make digital services more accessible to people with limited literacy or difficulty interacting through text.
At the same time, wider use of AI means users need new skills to participate safely online. Understanding data privacy and recognizing threats such as fraud and deepfakes are becoming increasingly important as AI-generated content and services become more widespread.
The report cites World Bank statistics indicating that generative AI literacy is the highest-value skill category, with wage premiums of up to 36%, significantly above the returns associated with both digital and traditional AI skills.
Without targeted interventions in basic digital training, however, faster AI adoption could reinforce existing inequalities even among populations that already have access to broadband networks.
“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.”
Taking digital skills into underserved communities
The report argues that digital inclusion programs need to reach people facing the greatest barriers to participation, including rural and remote communities, children and teachers in rural schools, older people, and women and girls.
One approach highlighted by the report is community-based training delivered directly to underserved areas.
Huawei’s Skills on Wheels initiative is cited as an example, including its solar-powered DigiTruck mobile classrooms. These mobile units bring hardware, connectivity and hands-on digital training to communities that may otherwise have limited access to technology and training facilities. The program has also incorporated AI literacy into its training activities.
Since 2019, Skills on Wheels projects have delivered training to more than 130,000 people across 21 countries, with additional people reached indirectly as trainees share their knowledge with family members and peers.
A report on Huawei’s DigiTruck program by Kenya’s Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy found that 79% of surveyed DigiTruck trainees had passed their newly acquired digital skills on to family members and peers.
“Mobile classrooms have demonstrated immense value in helping underserved populations break through physical and psychological barriers to technology,” said Gavin Allen, executive editor-in-chief at Huawei. “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.”
Making AI literacy part of digital infrastructure
The report calls for policymakers, telecom operators, and technology companies to treat digital and AI literacy as an integral part of digital inclusion rather than as a separate issue from connectivity.
It identifies four priorities: establishing practical AI awareness, online safety and information verification as baseline skills; expanding multilingual voice and conversational interfaces across public services; scaling mobile learning programs through partnerships between operators, technology vendors and local organizations; and measuring programs based on practical outcomes such as independent task completion and resilience against fraud.
The emphasis on practical skills reflects the changing nature of digital participation. As AI increasingly becomes an interface between users and online services, simply knowing how to access a network may no longer be enough.
For operators and technology providers, that creates a broader role in digital inclusion. Connectivity can provide the underlying access, but users also need the skills and confidence to use the services available to them.
Huawei’s Skills on Wheels program is also set to expand its European presence, with a new DigiTruck program planned for France this autumn. The initiative will cover several cities in the Île-de-France region and target low-income and underserved communities with digital skills training.
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday digital services, the report argues that building those skills will be critical to ensuring that connectivity translates into meaningful participation in the digital economy.
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