The data revealed by Nokia Siemens Networks shows a clear demand of data from end users in India according to the report, a first time 3G user consumes close to 400 MB of data every month compared to about 100 MB consumption over 2G.
The report further reveals that the recent tariff reductions in 3G services have resulted in doubling 3G data traffic month on month. It points out that affordable, high-speed broadband availability encourages heavy data consumption.
Nokia Siemens Networks collected in its MBit Index, has revealed a 54% increase in mobile data traffic in India between December 2011 and June 2012. The MBit Index report aggregates real traffic – across all the 2G (GSM and EDGE) and 3G multivendor networks managed by Nokia Siemens Networks for operators in India.
The report further reveals that data traffic generated by 3G services has increased by 78% while that of 2G services has increased by 47% during the same period. While 2G users across the country are consuming three-quarters of the total mobile data traffic on average, 3G users consume four times more data than 2G users. At this pace, Nokia Siemens Networks expects India’s mobile data consumption to double by June 2013.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ MBit Index indicates that despite low 3G device penetration, by the end of June 2012 3G has outpaced 2G in terms of data traffic growth. As 2G networks have contributed over 75% of the total data traffic generated, it is expected that 2G will continue to play a important role in providing basic mobile internet in India. Therefore, 2G is likely to remain a focus area for operators. However, with 3G data now generating 25% of the country’s total mobile data traffic, 3G is likely to be the driver for continued high data growth in the country.
Web browsing contributes 81% of 2G data traffic while downloading videos constitutes 17%. The report also indicates a steady growth of 4% in multimedia content traffic over 2G networks across the country from December 2011 to June 2012.
Nokia Siemens Networks’ MBit Index reports that 3G data use is rising in metro telecom circles while 2G use is stabilizing. It further indicates that category A and B telecom circles together contribute 72% of mobile data traffic. Category B circles have witnessed the strongest demand for 3G services with a growth rate of more than 87% between December 2011 and June 2012.
As a reader what do you think is Data the future of Telecom India? Should operator concentrate more on Data centric plans? On an average how much data do you consume monthly do let us know via comments.
