India's 3G data use skyrockets

Rising smartphones and mobile data price war by telecom companies have pushed 3G data consumption to record levels in the country.

Growth in 3G data traffic in the country surpassed the world average for 2013 with the country showing 87 per cent rise in the overall data traffic from both 2G and 3G services during 2013, of which 3G alone accounted for 43 per cent.


While 3G data traffic leapt by 146 per cent in 2013, 2G data traffic growth was stable at 59 per cent during the period, revealed MBit Index study, an annual report on mobile broadband performance in India by Nokia Solutions and Networks.

In some key urban centers, the average data consumption per user was as high as one gigabyte (GB) per month, indicating the rising popularity and the surge of 3G use across India.

In addition, premium tariff reductions in 3G services in early 2013 led to an increased migration of high end 2G customers to 3G, the report said.


Clearly pointing out the trend of higher average data consumption of 3G users than their 2G counterparts, the index showed that in December 2013 alone, a 3G user consumed 532 megabyte of data compared to 146 megabyte of data consumption by 2G users.


Among the highest contributor of 3G in India are cities under category A telecom circle which showed a remarkable increase in 3G mobile data consumption of 185 per cent in 2013.


“India is recording mobile broadband data growth figures higher than most other markets,” said Sandeep Girotra, head of India region at NSN.

This trend is in line with NSN’s Technology Vision 2020 that called for readying profitable mo-bile networks to deliver one gigabyte of personalized data per user per day by 2020, he added.

“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,” he explained,  calling for a wider 3G rollout, introduction of LTE technologies and modernization of the existing GSM networks.