Broadband India Forum submitted 10 recommendations for the growth of broadband in India.
# Address lack of digital infrastructure
# Invest in India’s e-governance app ecosystem
# Encourage development of vernacular content
# Use Start-Up India program to accelerate growth
# Promote skill development for app developers
# Promote Govt and private collaboration
# Strengthen cyber security infrastructure
# Build consumer awareness
# Disentangle regulatory needs
# Develop systematic approach to regulations
India has 291.61 million broadband subscribers — 18.23 million wired, 272.85 million mobile Internet and 0.53 million fixed wireless – till May 2017.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has 117.34 million 4G subscribers. Bharti Airtel has 53.3 million broadband users followed by Vodafone India 40.43 million, Idea Cellular 24.63 million and BSNL 21.59 million.
BSNL (9.8 million), Bharti Airtel (2.09 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.2 million), MTNL (0.99 million) and YOU Broadband (0.64 million) are the top five Wired Broadband Service providers in India.
Reliance Jio Infocomm (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (51.21 million), Vodafone (40.42 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and Reliance Communications (14.46 million) are the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers in the country.
A 17 percent increase in the internet traffic in India in 2015-16 contributed to an increase of INR 7 lakh crore — including INR 1.4 lakh crore due to Internet based app services — in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Internet’s contribution to India’s GDP was at about 5.6 percent in 2015-16. Internet’s contribution is estimated to grow to nearly 16 percent of the country’s GDP by 2020 or INR 36 lakh crore $534 billion with apps contributing about half, according to Broadband India Forum.
“Internet apps and services are disrupting traditional industries. Regulation is evolving to strike the right balance between protecting consumer/business interests and encouraging the ecosystem to innovate further,” said TV Ramachandran, president, Broadband India Forum.
