INDIA
ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT
JUNE 2016
MARKET
OVERVIEW
Key figures: India
2015
2021
CAGR 2015–2021
1,040
1,370
5%
Smartphone subscriptions (million)
210
810
15%
Data traffic per active smartphone (GB/month)
1.4
7
30%
Total mobile traffic (EB/month)
0.3
4.5
55%
Mobile subscriptions (million)
There will be 810 million Indian smartphone subscriptions by 2021
South Asia is projected to be a bright spot amongst
developing economies, with India being the dominant
economy in the region, as well as the second largest
telecommunications market in the world in terms of
subscriptions.1 The Indian economy is projected to grow by
7.4 percent in 2016.2 Liberal telecom policies, deregulation of
foreign direct investment (FDI) and strong consumer demand
have led to the rapid growth of the telecom sector in India.
In India, 16 percent of the population had a smartphone at the
end of 2015, compared to 44 percent globally. The number of
smartphone owners in India will further increase to 58 percent
by the end of 2021, while at the same point in time it is
foreseen that 81 percent will have a smartphone globally.
The growing smartphone penetration in India is expected
to fuel the growth of mobile broadband in the country.
There is a clear urban-rural divide in the telecommunications
sector in India. The teledensity in urban areas is three times
higher than in rural areas, as of the end of 2015, and the
divide is even higher for internet users. Internet subscription
has huge growth potential in both rural and urban areas
in India, with total subscription at just 25 percent of
the population.3
Mobile subscriptions by technology, India (million)
Mobile broadband is set to dramatically increase, with
smartphone subscriptions and total mobile traffic expected
to increase four-fold and fifteen-fold respectively from 2015
to 2021 – reaching 810 million smartphone subscriptions
and mobile traffic of 4.5 ExaBytes (EB) per month. India
saw the highest net mobile subscription addition of
21 million in Q1 2016.
LTE
GSM/EDGE-only
WCDMA/HSPA
CDMA-only
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
0
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
Shift in mobile technology
Smartphone owners in India will increase
to almost 60 percent by 2021 and fuel
the growth of mobile broadband usage
Global Economic Prospect Report, Worldbank (2016)
The Economist Intelligence Unit (2016)
3
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (2015)
1
2
2 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT INDIA JUNE 2016
GSM still dominates the Indian market. In 2015, over
80 percent of mobile subscriptions in India were GSM
subscriptions. This is projected to grow until 2016 and
decline thereafter due to operator initiatives to migrate
2G subscribers to 3G, decreasing handset prices and
bundling of data with devices.
WCDMA/HSPA and LTE networks are expected to gain
momentum, and the subscriptions will together account for
65 percent of Indian subscriptions by 2021. At this point in
time, CDMA-only technology is expected to be phased out.
Consumer
priorities
Data gaining prominence over voice for smartphone users in India
Globally, smartphone users show a higher tendency
to pay a premium for better data services, as opposed
to improving voice quality. In India, young smartphone
users aged 15–24 years old drive this need for better
data speed and data coverage, and have a higher
inclination to pay a premium for the same.
Calls and text messages are the top two activities of
smartphone users. In India, web browsing, emailing and
social networking are the top three internet activities on
smartphones, which is aligned to the global trend. Around
15 percent of smartphone users in India make online video
calls daily, and this is similar to the global average.4
Indian smartphone users rate data as more important
than voice, indicating the strong uptake of data services
in the country. Data speed is considered to be the most
important factor in determining both network performance
and smartphone users’ satisfaction with their operator.
However, smartphone users in India are more satisfied
with voice quality than data services. Mobile phone
users in India give more importance to voice quality
than data services, indicating that it is the smartphone
users who drive the need for better data services.
Importance of voice and data services
for mobile phone users
Overall mobile phone users
Smartphone users
13%
Data speed
24%
12%
Data reliability
19%
13%
Data coverage
18%
21%
Voice coverage
14%
20%
Voice reliability
13%
21%
Voice quality
Data will become more important than voice
as Indian consumers migrate to smartphones
12%
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), India
Base: Mobile phone users using the internet, 15–69 years old
Willingness to pay a premium for service improvements in India (percent)
Voice quality
Customer service
Data speed and coverage
60
60
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
India
Global
0
Options for data packages
15–24
Overall
25–39
40–69
India - age groups
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), 24 countries including India
Base: Smartphone users, 15–69 years old
4
Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), 24 countries including India
INDIA JUNE 2016 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT 3
Positive ICT
attitudes
Consumers in India believe that technology could improve the
quality and efficiency of their day-to-day lives. They feel secure
when purchasing products or services on mobile devices, and
believe that connecting household appliances, gadgets and
services to the internet would benefit the economy and society.
Over the past five years, they also believe that their technology
usage has significantly increased.
Positive attitude towards technology
India
63%
Global
44%
India
Internet activity is catching up with global levels
In India, one out of three internet users goes online daily,
compared to almost half globally.5 However, the nation’s
internet usage is catching up, and those aged 16–34 years
old have a high dependence on online access. The average
weekly time spent online has increased in India, but is still
below the global average.
ICT helps me lead
a more successful life
through technology
60%
Global
36%
Connecting household
appliances, gadgets and
services to the internet
would benefit the
economy and society
India
61%
Average weekly internet hours
17
11
6
2010
2015
Over 70 percent of Indian internet users consider being
contactable online as important. Consumers in India rely on
reviews posted on online forums and express their views on
blogs and social networks. Social forum feedback is trusted
more than other sources, and around 90 percent of internet
users in India are part of at least one social networking group.5
Consumers use e-commerce websites and mobile apps to
purchase products online. Online product reviews influence
purchasing, with over 25 percent of users in India relying on
the internet to research products and services before buying.5
Smartphone usage is increasing in India, specifically among
younger generations; with over 77 percent of smartphone
users aged 15–24 years old using the internet on their
smartphone every day. Smartphones are also widely used to
browse the internet, with over 71 percent of consumers using
it on a weekly basis, while more than one in two smartphone
users play games and access emails on their smartphone.5
This increasing mobile broadband usage is also facilitating
m-commerce activities. Around 40 percent of smartphone
users aged 15–24 years old purchase products using mobile
payments on a weekly basis. Mobile banking activities are also
increasing, with over 30 percent of users accessing banking
websites via their smartphone, or using mobile banking apps.5
ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), 24 countries including India
4 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT INDIA JUNE 2016
26%
I feel secure purchasing
products/services on
my mobile devices
Global
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015),
24 countries including India
Base: Internet users, 15–69 years old
5E
ricsson
Global
India
20
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015),
24 countries including India
Base: Internet users, 15–69 years old
Music streaming is more popular in India
In India, streaming music and watching videos are the most
popular forms of entertainment on smartphones. Around
50 percent of smartphone users stream music on mobile
apps every week, and more than one in two internet users
watch short online video clips on a weekly basis. The
percentage of smartphone users streaming online music
and watching full-length online videos in India is higher
than the global average.
Weekly smartphone entertainment activities
(percentage of smartphone users)
Global
India
Online music
streaming
Movies, TV
and sports
Video clips
0
10
20
30
40
50
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015),
24 countries including India
Base: Smartphone users, 15–69 years old
60
70
Mobile
app usage
E-commerce apps growing in popularity
Smartphone users primarily access the internet on their mobile
devices in India. With the projected growth of 3G and 4G
subscriptions in India, mobile app usage is expected to rise.
Mobile app usage is expected to increase
with the projected growth of 3G and 4G
subscriptions in India
Among Indian smartphone users, WhatsApp Messenger is the
top mobile app, in terms of the number of Indian consumers,
followed by Google Search and YouTube. E-commerce apps
such as Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal are growing in popularity
in India.
File sharing app Xender is the top mobile app by average
monthly data usage, followed by file sharing app SHAREit and
the YouTube video sharing app. The mobile app user base is
increasing due to its convenience and user-friendliness.
Top mobile apps by number of users (percent)
Facebook
Messenger
Average data usage (monthly GigaBytes)
Reach in 2014
Entertainment
Flipkart
Reach in 2015
Google+
WhatsApp
Messenger
Facebook
Google
Chrome
Social media
Commerce/shopping
Browser
Communication
Productivity/tools
Instagram
Google
Maps
Photography
Google Play
Store
Gmail
Facebook
app
Google
Chrome
UC Browser
YouTube
YouTube
app
Google
Search
SHAREit
WhatsApp
Messenger
Xender
0
20
40
60
80
100
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform, On Device
Measurement (October 2015), India
Base: Android smartphone users, 15–69 years old
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform, On Device
Measurement (October 2015), India
Base: Android smartphone users, 15–69 years old
Future expectations: Peer-to-peer sharing
and connected devices
Internet users and smartphone owners in India believe that
connecting devices helps improve the efficiency of their
everyday activities. TV, cars and cameras are the devices
that they would most like to be connected. Internet users
and smartphone owners aged 15–24 years old are more
interested in connecting devices than those who are older.7
The Indian youth segment is driving data usage and trying
out new data package services; thereby generating high
value as consumers.
Online connectivity empowers people to share knowledge
and resources with each other. Around 60 percent
of smartphone users in India have used a website or
application to share with peers, compared to 40 percent
globally. Peer sharing websites and applications are mainly
used for travel, food and clothing. Around 30 percent of
young smartphone users in India have leveraged peer
sharing websites or apps to rent a room in someone’s
house while traveling, compared to 15 percent globally.6
6
7
Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), 24 countries including India
Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), India
INDIA JUNE 2016 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT 5
Mobile
Traffic
Smartphone traffic to grow seventeen-fold by 2021
Mobile broadband and mobile apps are used to access a wide
range of services and information, and smartphone-driven
cellular and Wi-Fi data traffic have high growth prospects in
India. The smartphone subscription base in India is increasing,
leading to exponential growth in mobile traffic. From 0.3 EB per
month in 2015, total mobile traffic is expected to grow annually
by 55 percent, reaching 4.5 EB per month by 2021.
Data traffic per active smartphone is expected to
increase five-fold from 1.4 GigaByte (GB) per month in
2015 to 7 GB per month by 2021. In 2021, 99 percent
of the region’s mobile traffic will be from data.
Total smartphone traffic is growing seventeen-fold
to 4.2 EB per month by 2021. Data traffic for other
devices is also growing steadily and is expected to
increase four-fold, between 2015 and 2021 to around
170 PetaBytes per month. Compared to data usage,
voice has a low annual growth rate of 3 percent.
In India, data traffic per active smartphone
is expected to increase five-fold between
2015 and 2021
Mobile traffic, India (monthly PetaBytes)
Mobile traffic, India (monthly PetaBytes)
4,500
5,000
4,000
Mobile PCs, tablets
and mobile routers
Voice
Smartphones
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
Data
4,000
3,500
Total smartphone
traffic to grow
seventeen-fold
by 2021 in India
3,000
2,000
1,000
1,000
500
0
2011
0
2013
2015
2017
6 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT INDIA JUNE 2016
2019
2021
2011
2013
2015
2017
2019
2021
Network
Performance
User experience and network performance at different locations
In India, network performance increases consumer
loyalty, and this drives consumers towards choosing a
particular mobile operator. Though customer support
and marketing communication are also attributes
valued by consumers in their operators, network
performance ensures long-term consumer loyalty.8
Mobile broadband users access services from different
locations and their satisfaction levels vary from place to
place, depending on the network performance. The overall
satisfaction levels of smartphone users while performing
internet activities is higher at home, followed by at work and
while commuting. Over 70 percent of smartphone users
are satisfied with the network performance at home while
doing instant messaging, web browsing or social networking
using mobile internet. Over 60 percent of smartphone
users are satisfied with the network performance at home
while streaming videos using mobile internet. However,
only 50 percent are satisfied with network performance
for streaming videos on a smartphone while commuting.
User experience is expected to improve across all locations,
with growing WCDMA/HSPA population coverage and LTE
services being rolled out in India. WCDMA/HSPA technology
covered over 55 percent of the Indian population at the
end of 2015 and is projected to increase to 90 percent
by the end of 2021. The population coverage of LTE
networks in India is expected to reach 45 percent by the
end of 2021, from around 15 percent at the end of 2015.
Network performance satisfaction levels across various locations
when accessed on a daily basis (percent)
Instant messaging
Web browsing/
social networking
Streaming/
watching video
80
70
60
User experience is expected
to improve with growing
WCDMA/HSPA population
coverage and LTE services
being rolled out in India
50
40
30
20
10
0
At home
When at work/
school/college
While commuting
or traveling
Source: Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), India
Base: Mobile internet smartphone users of the respective activities, 15–69 years old
Population coverage, India
GSM/EDGE
~95%
>95%
2015
2021
WCDMA/HSPA
~55%
2015
~90%
2021
LTE
2015
2021
8
~15%
~45%
Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform (2015), India
INDIA JUNE 2016 ERICSSON MOBILITY REPORT 7
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