India, Sept. 19 -- India accounts for about 710 million people who live within the footprint of a mobile broadband network but do not use mobile internet, making the country the single largest contributor to the global mobile internet usage gap, according to the GSMA's State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2026 report.

The figure represents nearly 23% of the 3.1 billion people worldwide who are covered by mobile broadband but remain offline. India's usage gap is more than three times China's 200 million and exceeds the combined gaps of China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, based on GSMA Intelligence estimates for 2025.

The numbers point to a change in the connectivity challenge facing India and much of Asia. Extending network cove...