India records a whopping 146% growth in its 3G traffic during 2013, according to Nokia Solutions and Networks(NSN)’ MBit Index study* which studied the overall mobile broadband performance in India by types of connections and regions. India posted an overall growth of 87% on its mobile broadband, with 2G services increasing by 59% over the same tenure. For a country of 1.27 billion people, the growth in 3G traffic that is almost double the global average points to an increased adoption of mobile culture, marking a worldwide phenomenon of growing dependence on high speed data connection for everyday communication needs.
According to NSN, this trend is in line with NSN’s Technology Vision 2020 that mobile networks will need to be readied to profitably deliver one gigabyte of personalized data per user per day by 2020. The study also showed that on average, a 3G user in India consumes 532 megabyte of data compared to 146 megabyte consumption over 2G while in some urban centers the average data consumption per user is as high as one gigabyte per month. Driven by reducing tariffs, widespread use of smart mobile devices and the popular social media culture, especially among the younger generation,the take up on 3G and the overall growth in mobile broadband in India can be expected to continue growing at this pace.
The study also looked at the mobile broadband performance across the four telecom circle categories in India - namely the Metro, Category A, Category B and Category C, a categorization done to reflect the demographics, geographics and revenue potential of the many states and cities across India. According to the study, category A is the highest contributor of 3G in India, driving half of all mobile data in the country with a growth of 185% in 2013. In category B, 3G data payload surpassed that of metros with 3G now accounting for 31% of the total traffic. Both categories indicate a big demand of high- speed services, giving operators a huge opportunity to offer superior connectivity to their customers.The study also revealed that despite the high growth in 3G traffic, there are still gaps in the number of 3G sites needed to match the existing 2G coverage, indicating the need for further investments in the segment.
“India is recording mobile broadband data growth figures higher than most other markets,” said Sandeep Girotra, head of India region at NSN. “With the recent spectrum auctions paving the way for acceleration of mobile broadband penetration in the country, there is a great opportunity for India to create a world-class infrastructure and improve the lives of millions of Indians. This can be achieved through a wider 3G rollout as well as through selected introduction of LTE technologies and the modernization of existing GSM networks.”
- Dave Caputo, President and CEO, Sandvine
