The Ericsson Mobility Report was made public earlier this month, which states that 99% of the country’s Internet traffic will come from mobile phones by the end of 2021. The report says that with the increase in number of mobile phones adopted by the masses, mobile data usage is expected to surge five times by 2021.
In figures, the report states that the current average monthly mobile data consumed (1.4GB) will increase five-fold and go up to 7GB per month.
According to the report, a majority of the mobile phone users rely on voice services rather than data. It is only the smartphone users that rely on data services and are also willing to pay a premium for high speeds.
Part of the increase in data usage will also be because app files are becoming larger and more immersive; thus, increasing mobile data usage considerably.
According to the Global Ericsson Mobility Report, 50% of Indian smartphone users stream music via mobile apps every week, while one in every two smartphone user watches a video over their mobile data on a weekly basis.
Among streaming videos and music online, WhatsApp messenger tops the list for mobile entertainment. Other file sharing applications like Xender (that tops the list), SHAREit and YouTube sharing app are also seen gaining popularity along with e-commerce sites like Flipkart and Snapdeal.
By 2021, the population coverage for 3G services will reach 90% while the population coverage for 4G services in the country is expected to reach 45%.
India tops the Global Ericsson Mobility Report with the largest number of additions to mobile connections in the first quarter, coming in at 21 million. Myanmar and Indonesia accounted for 5 million while the US and Pakistan come in at 3 million each. The total number of mobile connections in the country will hit 810 million by 2021, states the report.
