GSMA's Badrinath on China's Telecom Sector Outlook
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Forbes
4 days ago
- Forbes
Not Just Online, In Control: Why Women's Digital Agency Matters
By Lauren Hendricks, President & CEO, Trickle Up In the race to close the digital divide, the conversation has long been centered around access: who has a device, and who can get online? But as we step deeper into the digital age, it's time we asked a more urgent and transformative question: who controls their digital experience? An economic inclusion coach teaches a woman in rural India how to use a smartphone for her business. While digital inclusion refers to access (using a device, using the internet, and connecting to a network), digital agency takes it one step further. Digital agency is about control, choice, and empowerment: the ability to decide how, when, and why digital tools are used. But for millions of women around the world, digital agency remains elusive. The Digital Divide Runs Deep Globally, 2.6 billion people remain offline, with women disproportionately affected. Women are 23% less likely than men to use the internet, and in regions like South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the gap is even wider—32% and 29%, respectively, according to GSMA's Mobile Gender Gap Report 2025. This isn't just a question of technology; it's a question of power. Pushpanjali Baccha teaches her neighbor how to use an app to help her business thrive. In low- and middle-income countries, 63% of women use mobile internet compared to 74% of men, leaving 235 million fewer women connected than men. Smartphone ownership mirrors this disparity: 61% of women own smartphones versus 71% of men, a gap that translates to 230 million women without smartphones. These statistics represent more than numbers; they reflect lost opportunities. Why Digital Access Alone Isn't Enough Even when women own devices, they may lack true autonomy. Many access the internet only on devices controlled by someone else: a husband, a father, or a shopkeeper. In Pakistan, 35% of female mobile internet users don't possess their own internet-enabled phones, compared to just 6% of men. This dependence curtails privacy, limits use, and reinforces existing gender norms. Two participants of an economic inclusion program use digital apps to build their businesses. In my work with women in Uganda, I realized that agency for them also meant being able to use digital tools for purposes they chose. I saw too many digital training programs that taught women to perform specific tasks (like sending mobile payments) that served someone else's goals. And I kept asking myself: are we equipping them to do what they want? To seek out new markets? To read up on their rights? Again and again, I watched women use their phones to seek information on sexual and reproductive health—resources that were rarely available offline or accessed safely and privately. Real digital agency means giving women the ability to explore what matters to them. The women in these communities are isolated, often staying within the bounds of their villages and disconnected from global conversations. With such limited access to outside information, a phone and internet access means access to an entirely new world. The Cost of Exclusion When women are excluded from digital spaces, the ripple effects are enormous. They miss out on critical information to improve their health, education, and livelihoods. They're cut off from community groups, online markets, and learning opportunities. And perhaps most damaging, they are denied the tools to shape their own future. Business owners in rural India use Google Pay to receive payments for goods and services. As research by Philip Roessler and others has shown, access to mobile phones can reduce poverty and increase women's bargaining power within households, shifting long-entrenched gender dynamics. But that's only if women truly control the tool. From Digital Inclusion to Digital Agency To close the digital gender divide, we must stop thinking of access as the finish line, and instead strive for agency. We must invest not just in hardware and data packages, but in skills, confidence, and social change. That means challenging the norms that view a girl with a phone as promiscuous, or punishing a woman for using a device her husband doesn't approve of. It is essential to ensure privacy, safety, and access to information that can change lives. Digital agency is the key to unlocking the full potential of the world's women. It's how we transform connectivity into an active catalyst for equality, giving every woman the power to decide her digital path and the freedom to walk it.
Android Authority
5 days ago
- Android Authority
Pixels lack this key calling feature in many markets, but there is a possible solution
Ryan Haines / Android Authority TL;DR The GSMA has told Android Authority it could work with Google to broadly enable VoLTE around the world. Google Pixel phones lack VoLTE support in most markets where Pixels aren't sold. This news comes months after Samsung and the GSMA announced a plan to enable VoLTE by default on Galaxy phones. Samsung and the GSMA announced a plan earlier this year to broadly enable VoLTE tech by default on Galaxy phones in many markets. This is a big deal as 3G networks are shutting down in many markets, and conventional phone calls rely on 3G or insecure 2G connections. So VoLTE will allow people to keep making calls when these networks are shuttered. This announcement is pretty interesting because Google Pixel phones lack VoLTE in most countries around the world. In fact, Google generally restricts VoLTE on Pixels to markets where the phones are sold. That means Pixel owners in unsupported markets will either have to rely on insecure 2G networks or go without phone calls when 3G networks eventually shut down in their country. This could also be a major inconvenience if you're traveling from the US or Europe to these unsupported markets. It would also be a pain if you're importing your Pixel to an unsupported locale. Could Pixels be next for wide VoLTE support? That got me wondering whether another smartphone brand, like Google, could follow Samsung and team up with the GSMA to broadly enable VoLTE. 'Yes, our GSMA Industry Services team can provide these services to all device manufacturers,' GSMA representative Dan Thomas told Android Authority in response to an emailed query. So, in theory, could Google, in particular, enable VoLTE in unsupported countries by working with the GSMA? And would the Pixel maker still need to work with carriers in these unsupported markets? I put these follow-up questions to Thomas: That's correct. We run (the) Network Settings Exchange , so that mobile network operators can upload their settings for VoLTE and so on. This means that device manufacturers can then come to one place to access the settings and provision on devices… rather than having to have conversations and do this with hundreds of mobile operators around the world. The GSMA representative said this would allow Google to have an 'open device' that allows VoLTE on any network. Thomas added that the Pixel maker could enable VoLTE and other associated settings via the Network Settings Exchange, a GSMA-recommended profile, or the OEM's own default settings. For what it's worth, Samsung and the GSMA said earlier this year that Galaxy phones would get VoLTE by defaulting to the GSMA Profile #4 or #6 if a carrier didn't upload its settings to the Network Settings Exchange. We asked Google about the possibility of teaming up with the GSMA to broadly enable VoLTE on Pixels. The company confirmed receipt of the query but hasn't issued a response at the time of publication. Either way, widespread VoLTE support would be a huge deal for Pixel owners who are traveling, and for people who imported their Pixels. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Bloomberg
China Opposes Trade Deals at Its Expense
With 10 days to go until President Trump's country-specific tariffs are set to resume, China warns the US it will not tolerate trade deals with other countries that go against its interests. Bloomberg's Stephen Engle reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
