Mobile internet zooming up 56% in India: 371m users by June

Photo credit: Dinuraj K

The number of mobile internet users in India is expected to reach 371 million by June 2016, according to a report released today by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). This represents a year-on-year growth of 56 percent (from 238 million in June 2015), and an eight-fold increase in four years.

The share of urban users is expected to remain 71 percent, the same as what it was in December 2015 when IAMAI reported a mobile internet user base of 306 million. In other words, mobile internet usage is growing at the same rate in both urban and rural India.

The share of mobile internet spend in the average monthly bill for phone users increased to 64 percent in 2015, compared to 54 percent in 2014. That’s only to be expected, given the rise in internet usage. But the usage pattern has seen a shift.

Drop in social media use

Communication has become the main purpose of mobile internet usage, whereas earlier social media topped the list. In rural India, however, the main reason for users to connect to the internet is entertainment, followed by social networking and online communication.

Last week, WeAreSocial released data showing that only 10 percent of India’s 1.32 billion are on social media sites. And yet, Indians spend significantly more time on the internet than the Chinese.

See: Indians spend more time on the internet than the Chinese