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The surge of internet users in India is only expected to continue in the next few years. According to a report done by IAMAI & KPMG titled 'India On The Go - Mobile internet Vision 2017,' India will have 500 million internet users. However, as is the case now, a majority of India's internet traffic will come from mobile devices.
By 2016, India is projected to have 236 million mobile internet users the report says, which would reach 314 million by 2017.
As of June 2015, India has 350 million active internet users. The user base of 3G in India is rapidly gaining market and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 61.3 per cent from 2013-17. However rural consumers will continue to use 2G.
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There were approximately 82 million 3G subscribers in India by the end of year 2014 and the number is projected to reach 284 million by end of year 2017. Commenting on the release of the IAMAI-KPMG report, Ashvin Vellody, Partner - Management Consulting, KPMGin India said, "With more than 300 million internet users, India has the second largest internet user base in the world. But the internet penetration at 19 per cent (approx) is poor and limits the potential. The next wave of growth in penetration of internet will driven by adoption of mobile internet. The mobile internet growth story would be written by the large population in the hinterland and meaningful and compelling content/ use cases would enable adoption of mobile internet."
He further stated, "It is imperative to connect Indians through internet of which the mobile internet will play a key role since reliable accessibility will be the killer app that will bind the internet ecosystem together, increase adoption and enable innovation in business models around voice and data services."
Like it is true for all other consumer industries, rural India will contribute significantly to the internet push. As of 2014, the active internet user (AIU) base in rural India was 6.7 per cent of the overall rural population of 905 million and accounted for 61 million users. While 4.4 per cent of the total rural population used a mobile device to access the Internet, the figure that stood at a meagre 0.4 per cent in the year 2012. The IAMAI-KPMG report has found that the rural growth story in the coming years will likely be written by 2G technologies.
Increased Internet enabled device penetration, decreasing handset prices and data plans tariffs are helping to create a suitable environment for a rapid growth of Mobile Internet in India, with rural India set to take the lead. As of June 2014, nearly 50% of the AIU in rural areas accessed Internet using mobile phones, Community Service Centers (CSC) and Cyber Cafes. 38% of the Active Internet Users use Mobile phone as the main access point.
