Data consumption in India to grow at 73% CAGR by 2022

India's data consumption is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 72.6 per cent to 10,96,58,793 million MB by 2022, India’s economic success goes hand in hand with its increased openness and globalization. At the same time internet penetration is increasing in India, with mobile internet penetration set to reach 56.7 per cent in 2022.

As per Ericsson, India has the world’s highest data usage per smartphone at an average of 9.8GB per month. Improved device penetration, affordable data tariff plans, and increase in data-intensive content such as videos are driving this growth in India.

Key Insights :

Major growth drivers responsible for this increase in mobile subscriber base worldwide include:

* Rising demand for internet services in developing countries like China and India

* Increased investment in advanced technologies like AR, VR, IoT and AI

* Favorable and supportive regulatory environment

* Affordable data plans and low-cost smartphones are fuelling the growth of data consumption

The report also noted that there has been a value shift to platforms. "Social media and technology platforms, instead of content creators and packagers, have emerged as the primary beneficiaries of the increase in user time and spending," it added. Another major aspect in the journey of OTT players will be the ability to personalise experiences. Emerging technologies would help companies create unique experiences that add value to the services provided to users.
 

The report predicts that total mobile data traffic per month will grow at a CAGR of 23% from 4.6 exabytes in 2018 to 16 exabytes in 2024. Smartphone user base in India will reach 1.1 billion by 2024, whereas mobile broadband subscriptions are expected to grow from about 610 million in 2018 to 1.25 billion in 2024.

Streaming 360-degree videos and augmented and virtual reality should be significant factors to aid mobile data growth and enhance the user experience with the roll-out of 5G, the report said. Interestingly, the report also claims that Indian smartphone users are willing to pay more than 66% premium for futuristic 5G services.

Media consumption across the globe is increasingly happening in digital formats. The increase in the number of devices capable of supporting digital media along with increasing internet access speed, has provided consumers with an option to access the media content of his choice be it information, entertainment or social activity anytime, anywhere.

India has initiated a project to digitally map the country with a resolution of 10 centimetres, using drones and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Big Data.