Indians Consume More Data on Mobiles than British, French Subscribers

Indian subscribers consumed 7.4 GB of data per user per month on their mobile devices over mobile networks alone in 2017, taking India ahead than markets like Britain, South Korea and France, reported Hindustan Times. “

According to Nokia’s Mobile Broadband India Traffic Index 2018, that released on Feb.22, the average 4G usage has reached around 11GB per month, per user. 4G mobile data has propelled the use of data consumption in India in 2017 with 4G capturing 82 per cent share of total data traffic in December 2017.

In total, there has been a 144 per cent data traffic growth in 2017 driven by increase in 3G and 4G consumption. Access to high-speed 4G internet has increased appetite for overall data consumption in the country.

3G data grew 286 per cent in 2017 against 25 per cent in 2016. Video contributed to 65-75 per cent share of mobile data traffic; within video, over-the-top (OTT) usage is driven by cheaper data plans, and launch of locally relevant as well as original content. As much as15-18 per cent data was used for browsing, while 8 to 10 per cent was used for social media and 4-8 per cent for other uses.

In 2017, Hindi and regional language videos were watched more than 90 per cent on YouTube India, according to the report. Driven by availability of affordable devices, 3G and 4G device base grew 1.1x and 1.7x respectively; VoLTE handsets achieved scale with an estimated base of 162 million, said the report.

“The year 2017 saw telcos expand 4G networks and this momentum is likely to continue. The drop in prices of devices, both smartphones and feature phones, is driving data consumption in the country,” Sanjay Malik, Head of India Market, Nokia, said in a statement.

Malik added that there may be chances that the next wave of growth in the Indian broadband market can come from the untapped base of feature phone users who will potentially move directly from 2G to 4G. “Indian telcos will need to explore innovative network technologies that will help them prepare networks for the 5G and connected devices era,” Malik said. The expected commercial launch of 5G is 2020.

The use of mobile internet coupled with increase in smartphones sales has contributed to personal security in India for 76 per cent people, enhanced quality of life for 66 per cent, and personal independence of 63 per cent people.

According to Google, there has been a 10-fold rise in the number of searches for “Good Morning images” over the past five years. One of the drawbacks of affordable smartphones and internet connections in India has been exchange of “Good Morning” messages that have led to many smartphones freezing, according to Google. The company used its giant image database and artificial intelligence tools to train the app to weed out good morning messages.