Mobile Investment Gaps: Caribbean islands

Nearly half of the population in the Caribbean islands remains unconnected today. At the same time, 5G is in the early stages of deployment, constituting only 1% of all mobile connections in the region at the end of 2023.

To achieve digital inclusion and transformation targets, it is crucial to understand how 4G and 5G connectivity gaps will evolve in the period to 2030 under prevailing market conditions. For this, we quantify the additional investment required to bridge mobile coverage and usage gaps in the Caribbean islands by 2030.

This analysis shows that while further progress is possible under current market conditions, this will be limited and fall short of the targets that have been set, by some distance. By 2030, there will be a very significant investment gap that will remain unaddressed, unless market reforms are urgently implemented to unlock investments and improve affordability.