India Has Highest Data Usage Per Smartphone In World, Thanks To Low Tariffs: Ericsson Report

With an average of 9.8 GB per month, India has topped the list of world’s highest data usage per smartphone, the Ericsson Mobility Report said. The report adds that the data usage would double to 18 GB by 2024 due to rich video content, Livemint reports.

“Improved device penetration, affordable data tariff plans, and increase in data-intensive content such as videos are driving this growth in India,” head of Ericsson India, Nitin Bansal said on Wednesday (19 June).

North East Asia follows India in second place with 7.1 GB per month while West Asia and Africa region are the lowest with 3 GB per month, the report for the year 2018 said. The report estimates that streaming videos would account for 75 per cent of the overall mobile traffic by 2024.

The total mobile traffic per month will grow at a CAGR of 23 per cent from 4.5 exabytes in 2016 to reach 16 exabytes in 2024, and the smartphone user base in the country is set to reach 1,1 billion by 2024. The report estimates mobile broadband subscriptions to grow from 610 million in 2018 to 1.25 billion in 2024.

Among other things, the report also covered the rollout of 5G services. The report claims that Indian smartphone users are willing to pay over 66 per cent premium for 5G services.