MTN Group has joined other International Telecommunications Union (ITU) partners (Partner2Connect) to bolster universal, meaningful connectivity with $2 billion, pushing total funds realised thus far at $73 billion.
This was revealed at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC 2025) in Barcelona, Spain by ITU, the UN agency for digital technologies.
Partner2Connect is ITU’s initiative to mobilise pledges and resources to reinforce global connectivity efforts, strengthen the world’s digital infrastructure and move closer to ensuring that everyone can use the Internet.
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said: “In space, on land and under the sea, expansive digital infrastructure highlights how much humanity values and depends on meaningful connectivity.
“These new pledges bring us even closer to our goal of delivering sustainable digital transformation to everyone, everywhere.”
On the new commitments, ITU said MTN Group is deeply committed to investing in the future of Africa, deploying on average approximately $2 billion per year in capital expenditure across its markets over the past five years.
The UN body said MTN expects to make similar investments over the next five years, in support of Africa’s growth and prosperity. It disclosed that this will be dedicated to expanding and strengthening its voice and data networks, ensuring better coverage and connectivity for its customers.
According to ITU, MTN Group believes these investments are crucial for driving digital inclusion and economic growth in these vital markets.
The telecoms body also disclosed that Globalstar, which is investing $2 billion to expand its LEO satellite network, will deliver seamless, low-latency and energy-efficient connectivity for direct-to-device (D2D) and IoT solutions.
Through this pledge, Globalstar will expand connectivity in remote regions, delivering reliable and affordable communication solutions where they are needed most.
The announced pledges come as ITU celebrates its 160th anniversary in 2025 and is committed to securing a better digital future for all by advancing efforts to connect the unconnected, fast-track sustainable digital development, and empower people to use digital technologies.
Currently, 2.6 billion people around the world remain offline, according to ITU’s facts and figures report.
ITU has called for $100 billion in commitments to Partner2Connect by 2026 for projects driving digital transformation across all countries, with special attention to the hardest-to-connect communities.
ITU currently estimates that $1.6 trillion is required in hardware costs alone to complete the task of connecting the world, with most of the resources needed in developing countries.
The new commitments will be used to expand and enhance digital infrastructure, strengthen connectivity in underserved areas, and accelerate digital transformation through innovative technologies.
In total, over 1,000 pledges have been made to the Partner2Connect platform from governments, industry and other stakeholders, covering 147 countries.
