This is a particular challenge for women who, in most countries, are less likely to own their own phone. In Pakistan, for instance, 78 percent of men own a phone and SIM card, but 80 only 36 percent of women do. There is strong anecdotal evidence that women who borrow phones from their husbands or sons are hesitant to use them for financial services, for example because they do not want to receive texts with information about deposit balances or loan payments. Widespread smartphone ownership can further encourage adoption of digital finance. Unlike old-fashioned “dumb” phones or even feature phones, smartphones can accommodate sophisticated financial services in a user-friendly way. In most countries— both developed and developing—banks are actively promoting mobile banking apps for smartphones as the number of smartphone users explodes and the cost of these devices plummets. The share of smartphone subscribers in emerging economies rose from 7 percent of the total population in 2012 to 25 percent by 2015 and is expected to reach 81 Growth has been rapid—in Myanmar, 45 percent by 2020 and keep growing thereafter. smartphone subscribers have increased from less than 1 percent of the total population in 2012 to 34 percent today, constituting 70 percent of all mobile phone subscribers. Many middle-income emerging economies now have relatively high smartphone penetration: it is 56 percent in Malaysia and Serbia, for example, and 52 percent in Thailand. Although smartphone manufacturers are competing fiercely on price, the market dynamics in individual countries will still determine the overall price of device plus data plans, and these can vary enormously (Exhibit 23). Despite impressive growth, smartphone ownership remains rare among poorer and less technologically savvy people in most emerging economies. In some countries, even the most basic smartphone can consume up to 82 30 percent of an average monthly salary. If financial services evolve in such a way as to require smartphones more quickly than the pace of smartphone price declines, poorer people may be left behind. Everyone has a role to play to ensure benefits are broadly shared While great strides are being made in mobile connectivity and ownership, there is a 56% continuing role for governments, NGOs, and the private sector to ensure that the benefits smartphone are broadly shared across society. Efforts should focus on addressing issues around penetration in the “edges” of the network, where markets are moving too slowly or failing to address Malaysia and certain gaps, with the aim of tilting the economic case for private-sector players to step Serbia in. Examples of interventions include universal coverage preconditions in spectrum licensing agreements, targeted co-investments, and public-private partnerships to develop infrastructure. One way to expand coverage is for mobile network operators to share infrastructure. Passive network sharing, which involves sharing of sites, masts, and fuel while retaining separate networks, is most common. In some cases, separately created entities have taken on the risks of expanding infrastructure in return for fees charged to each operator. In 2014, there were 64 passive sharing agreements in place in Asia, according to one 83 study. In Myanmar, a tower sharing agreement between Telenor and Ooredoo enabled the two telecoms companies’ coverage to expand from less than 10 percent of the population in 2008 to 40 percent in 2014. Active network sharing, which involves sharing both infrastructure and network bandwidth, is less common because it is more complex to 80 Ibid. 81 GSMA Intelligence Database, 2016. 82 Handset cost data from IDC, 2016; monthly wage data from Economist Intelligence Unit, 2013 (2016 estimates). 83 Tim Hatt, Kenechi Okeleke, and Mike Meloán, Closing the coverage gap: A view from Asia, GSMA, June 2015. 60 McKinsey Global Institute 4. Capturing the opportunity