Expanding mobile broadband coverage is lifting millions out of poverty Image Surfing the web or connecting to social media at home, in the office or at school has become a natural part of daily life for many in the world. It may seem unthinkable, then, that millions of people in developing countries still remain disconnected from the digital world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, a quarter of the population still live outside mobile broadband coverage, compared to 7 percent globally (GSMA). Expansion of mobile broadband plays a particularly important role in Africa where it constitutes the primary—and often sole—method of digital access for many individuals. For every 100 people in the region, there were 34 active mobile broadband subscriptions in 2017, compared to just 0.4 for fixed broadband. The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed the importance of the mobile internet to support access to education, work, healthcare, social networks, goods and services, but has also shown that digital divides could exacerbate existing inequalities across countries and along demographic and socioeconomic groups.