According to the new Cisco Annual Internet Report, India will have over 907 million internet users by 2023, accounting for 64% of the population. This is up from 398 million or 29% of the population in 2018. India will also have 966 million total mobile users (68% of population) by 2023, up from 763 million (56% of the population) in 2018.
In India, devices and connections are growing faster (7 per cent CAGR) than the population (1.0 per cent CAGR). This trend is accelerating the increase in the average number of devices and connections per household and per capita. Each year, various new devices in different form factors with increased capabilities and intelligence are introduced and adopted in the market. A growing number of M2M (machine to machine) applications, such as smart meters, video surveillance, healthcare monitoring, transportation, and package or asset tracking, are contributing in a major way to the growth of devices and connections. By 2023, M2M connections will be 25 per cent of the total devices and connections.
For the past 50 years, each decade introduced a new mobile technology with cutting-edge innovations. Mobile bandwidth requirements have evolved from voice calls and texting to ultra-high-definition (UHD) video and a variety of augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) applications. Consumers and business users worldwide continue to create new demands and expectations for mobile networking. This ongoing trend is clearly highlighted by the adoption and use of mobile applications. Social networking, video streaming and downloads, business productivity, e-commerce, and gaming will drive the continued growth of mobile applications, with nearly 46.2 billion apps downloaded by 2023.
In India, the average fixed broadband speed will grow 2.7-fold from 2018 to 2023, from 15.1 Mbps in 2018 to 40.9 Mbps. Further, 94% of fixed broadband connections will be faster than 10 Mbps by 2023, up from 41% in 2018. The average 4G speed in India will be 19.4 Mbps by 2023, up from 13.3 Mbps in 2018, 1.5-fold growth (8% CAGR).
“As digital literacy, mobile penetration, and internet connectivity grow deeper into the hinterland, a massive shift will be created in internet usage and consumption patterns across the country. This rise in connectivity and changing consumption patterns will challenge service providers’ ability to service their customers in an optimal manner. Flatter and more secure networks leveraging cloud and edge computing, as well as automation to manage the ever-expanding network, is essential for them to keep pace in the digital world. Service providers and enterprises will continue on the journey towards software-defined everything and edge computing to lower their overall cost per bit and provide the best customer experience,” said Anand Bhaskar, Managing Director, Service Providers Sales, Cisco India and SAARC.