India's data consumption sparks up to grow of about 72.6% by 2022

New Delhi, March 11: Initially it being a luxury, later it turned out to be a need amongst the masses.. and now it is hardly possible to make out difference between the duo..! The internet usage worldwide has become a part - parcel of the lives within. A recent report by Assocham-PwC have staunchly stated that 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.

 

"With lower than ever data tariffs and increasing number of smartphone penetration in the country, which is around 40 per cent as of 2017, it is safe to assume that the Video on Demand (VoD) market will be a significant beneficiary of these developments. Internet consumption is clearly on the rise in India”, read the study report.

Although Internet connectivity and speed issues are significant in rural areas as against urban areas, country where approximately 65-70 per cent of the population resides in rural areas, no service meant for the masses can afford to ignore this market.

The report also noted that there has been a value shift to platforms. While the average Indian used to spend more on voice services than on mobile data services until 2013, the majority of an average mobile bill is now spent on data.

The average monthly spend on voice services in 2013 was Rs 214 compared to Rs 173 spent on data. In 2016, the spend on voice fell to Rs 124, while data spend rose to Rs 225, according to the report. "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 signed off.

With over 460 million internet users, India is the second largest online market, ranked only behind China