Mobile Data Traffic Grows More Than 50% In H1 2012

NEW DELHI: Data from 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 primary data* – real traffic – across all the 2G (GSM and EDGE) and 3G multivendor networks managed by Nokia Siemens Networks for operators in India. The company currently provides 30% of the total 2G and 3G networks in India which provide services to about 300 million subscribers. This large sample size, amounting to a third of India’s 2G and 3G mobile networks, offers an excellent insight into data traffic across all networks in the country.

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.


“Our report highlights India’s enormous appetite for consuming data services on the go and hence the need to provide high quality mobile broadband services to satisfy users,” said Sandeep Girotra, head of India region at Nokia Siemens Networks. “2G has been relatively successful in driving mobile broadband use in India, but we are now witnessing 3G pushing the mobile broadband use to unprecedented levels.”