According to a report released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, the number of mobile internet users in the country is expected to increase from 87.1 million in December 2012 to 165 million by March 2015.
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As per the report, an increasing number of users are accessing the web through mobile devices and dongles. Further, the number of mobile internet users accessing the internet through dongles and tablet PCs increased from 78.7 million in October 2012 to 87.1 million in December 2012. The number of users accessing the internet through dongles and PCs is expected to further increase to 92.9 million (by March 2013), 130.6 million (by March 2014) and 164.8 million by March 2015.
Further, IAMAI and IMRB state that of the total 78.7 million internet user base in October 2012, 61 million were off-deck users (accessing sites other than operator websites), 15 million were on-deck users (accessing only sites specified by the operator) and the remaining 2.7 million users accessed the internet using dongles (i.e. users connected to internet using 2G, 3G or high-speed data cards).
As per the findings of the report, an average monthly bill of a user accessing internet on mobile devices stood at Rs 460. Of this, about Rs 198 is spent towards internet-centric services. Therefore, users spend as much as 40 per cent of their bill amount for accessing the internet, while the rest of the bill amount is spent on voice services. Further, as per the report, email, social networking services and messengers have high usage among mobile internet users. The users access online videos, games or read online news two to six times a week. The report concludes that while online games are accessed by nearly 50 per cent of the mobile internet users, less than 30 per cent of users read news online and watch online videos.
