By Sidhartha Halder, Strategy and ESG Principal Lead MEA, Nokia
Bridging the digital divide lies at the heart of Nokia’s sustainability strategy, which aims to connect 2 billion mobile users and 140 million new fiber customers by 2030. The company is addressing digital exclusion through three key pillars: expanding rural broadband with solutions such as Rural Connect®, fostering digital skills and community empowerment programs, and deploying climate-resilient network technologies.
These efforts are already making a tangible difference across the Middle East and Africa—from extending rural connectivity in Cameroon and Madagascar, to providing affordable fiber access in South Africa—supporting women’s digital upskilling with UN Women and promoting youth education initiatives in Jordan and Kenya.
Nokia’s Commitment to Bridging the Digital Divide
In an era defined by unprecedented technological acceleration, connectivity has become the foundation on which societies grow, innovate, and thrive. As the world enters the AI (artificial intelligence) supercycle, the importance of fast, secure, and resilient networks has never been greater. Nokia, a global leader in connectivity for the AI era, has placed this mission at the heart of its strategy, guided by a clear north star: Advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world.
This north star is more than a slogan; it is a commitment to continuous innovation, to raising industry standards, and to ensuring that every network Nokia powers contributes to a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient digital future. It recognizes Nokia’s unique role in enabling the AI-driven world and reinforces that the promise of a brighter tomorrow cannot be achieved without advanced and trusted connectivity.
A Sustainability Strategy Built for Tomorrow
Nokia’s sustainability strategy is anchored in the belief that technological progress must go hand-in-hand with responsibility. As networks become more intelligent, the imperative to connect people in a sustainable and equitable manner grows stronger.
The company’s strategy focuses on the long-term impact of connecting intelligence today while safeguarding the well-being of tomorrow’s people and planet. Nokia aims to become its customers’ most trusted connectivity partner—one that enables innovation, drives resilience, and supports the digital transformation of industries, societies, and nations.
To deliver on this vision, Nokia has identified four strategic sustainability impact areas:
- Decarbonization & circular transition
- Bridging the digital divide
- Supply chain resilience
- Responsible use of technology
Among these, bridging the digital divide stands out not only as a business priority but as a global societal mandate.
The Urgency of Bridging the Digital Divide
Despite unprecedented progress in digital infrastructure over the past decade, 3.4 billion people remain underserved or unconnected. The consequences are profound: communities without access to reliable connectivity face greater exposure to climate-related risks, fewer economic opportunities, and limited access to essential services such as education, healthcare, and digital commerce.
Global studies underline the economic potential of connectivity. A World Bank analysis shows that a 10% increase in broadband penetration can increase GDP by up to 2.5% in developing economies, while GSMA estimates that closing the mobile internet usage gap could add USD 700 billion to global GDP by 2030. These figures highlight a simple fact: digital inclusion is economic inclusion.
Nokia aims to help customers connect 2 billion mobile subscribers and 140 million new fiber-to-the-home users by 2030—one of the industry’s most ambitious commitments. The company’s approach centers on three pillars: accelerating rural broadband access, driving community enablement programs, and building extreme-weather-resilient networks.
Pillar 1: Accelerating Rural Broadband Access
Reaching remote, low- ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), and energy-constrained environments requires solutions that are technologically robust and economically viable. Nokia’s response is Nokia Rural Connect®, an award-winning, sustainable connectivity solution engineered to bring 2G, 3G, and 4G services to hard-to-reach communities.
The offering tackles one of the industry’s biggest barriers—the high per-user cost of rural deployment—by enabling operators to reuse existing or refurbished RAN equipment, adopt redeployable civil works, and integrate renewable energy. With solar- or hybrid-powered systems and flexible backhaul options, Nokia Rural Connect delivers reliable coverage, even in areas with unreliable or no grid infrastructure.
The impact is already visible. In Cameroon, the deployment of Nokia Rural Connect led to a fivefold increase in mobile users within just two weeks, as residents gained their first-ever access to digital services. In Madagascar, Nokia and Airtel launched the nation’s first fully off-grid rural sites using refurbished hardware, renewable energy, and flexible backhaul options, including LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite, demonstrating a scalable blueprint for rural digital transformation across Africa.
Beyond mobile broadband, Nokia is also expanding fixed broadband access in underserved communities. In South Africa, Nokia’s fiber access and IP solutions are enabling fibertime™ to bring high-speed broadband to 400,000 additional homes located in townships and lower-income areas historically left behind by digital infrastructure investment. With Nokia’s technology, fibertime™ delivers affordable, reliable fiber at scale, including its flagship offering: uncapped, unthrottled internet for just ZAR 5 a day. This model is reshaping the economics of fiber rollout in underserved regions and aligns directly with Nokia’s mission to make high-quality broadband accessible to all.
Together, these deployments demonstrate Nokia’s holistic approach to rural and underserved connectivity, combining innovative RAN reuse, renewable energy systems, adaptive backhaul, and affordable fiber access models to close the digital gap across diverse geographies.
Pillar 2: Driving Community Programs for Digital Enablement
Connectivity alone does not close the digital divide; people must also have the skills, confidence, and tools to participate in the digital economy. That is why Nokia partners with civil society, customers, and NGOs to drive digital empowerment programs.
A flagship collaboration is the long-standing partnership with UN Women, through which Nokia supports digital upskilling initiatives for women in underprivileged communities. Programs have already been deployed across Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco. In Morocco’s Tanger–Tétouan–Al Hoceïma region, Nokia and UN Women introduced a three-day digital skills workshop tailored for women fishers. The training focused on digital tools for professional use, cybersecurity awareness, soft skills, and digital marketing, blending technology with real-world, income-generating opportunities.
The commitment extends to youth programs as well. In Jordan, Nokia partnered with Princess Sumaya University for Technology to deliver the Future Engineers’ Empowerment Program, equipping students with hands-on exposure to advanced engineering and emerging technologies. Beyond universities, Nokia also invests in digital enablement for school children in underserved areas. In 2025, Nokia and Save the Children launched a program in Kenya to establish digital learning hubs across three counties, directly benefiting more than 3,000 learners in its initial phase.
Pillar 3: Building Climate-Resilient Networks for a Changing World
Extreme weather events—from floods to cyclones—are becoming more frequent and severe. Telecommunications networks, often dependent on centralized power, remain highly vulnerable. Nokia is pushing the frontier of climate resiliency by integrating advanced technologies into network design and operations.
These include:
- Digital twins that enable predictive maintenance and simulate disaster scenarios.
- Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) that converts fiber networks into real-time early warning systems.
- 5G network slicing to guarantee performance for emergency services and mission-critical communications.
These innovations ensure that connectivity—a lifeline during crises—remains reliable when communities need it most.
Conclusion: A Commitment That Goes Beyond Connectivity
As the world moves deeper into the AI era, connectivity becomes not just a technological enabler but a societal necessity. Nokia’s commitment to advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world is grounded in purpose, powered by innovation, and driven by a resolve to ensure that no one is left behind.
By expanding rural coverage, empowering communities with digital skills, and building resilient networks for a changing climate, Nokia is shaping a future in which connectivity becomes a universal right—not a privilege. The mission to bridge the digital divide is far from over, but Nokia’s actions make one thing clear: the company is not just building networks; it is building opportunity, resilience, and hope for millions.
