According to a study titled MBit Index by Nokia Networks, the mobile internet usage in India has grown by 74 per cent year-on-year in 2014, driven by a more than double growth in 3G service usage by the customers. The total mobile internet traffic grew from 49 PB in 2013 to 85 PB in 2014. The study added that on an average, a 3G subscriber consumed three times more data than a 2G subscriber over the same time period. As per the data collected by Nokia Networks, 3G network use accounted for 52 per cent to the total data consumption in 2014. Meanwhile, mobile internet usage on 2G networks increased by 41 per cent in 2014.
Further, the category-A service areas, namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu circles contributed most to the overall data usage as well as 3G uptake. The eight category-B circles accounted for second highest data consumption at 30 percent.
On 4G network deployment, the study added that though 4G in India is in the nascent stage. The country already has 5.5 million 4G capable devices but only about 85,000 subscribers are active long-term evolution users in India.
