48 percent Indian telecom users believe that there is no difference between 2G and 3G speeds, said Ericsson ConsumerLab report.
63 percent of Indian broadband users face quality and reliability issues including lost connections and inconsistent network speeds, when using mobile networks indoors.
App-related issues while outdoors or commuting, such lengthy lag times, apps taking a long time to refresh, maps failing to load, and session failures affect 68 percent of consumers. Such problems are more common in mid-size and small towns compared to large cities.
Ericsson India said connection quality and reliability problems have a higher tendency to occur indoors, while session failures and poor app accessibility are problems faced by outdoor smartphone users.
Affordability and digital literacy are the prime obstacles to adoption for consumers who do not use mobile broadband. 88 percent consumers on 2G feel that mobile broadband is too expensive. 53 percent feel that mobile broadband adds no value and 48 percent believe there is no difference between 2G and 3G speeds.
Mobile internet usage is expected to grow with the consumers’ better understanding of the data plans on offer. 10 percent of mobile internet users feel they understand their plan perfectly, and are able to make an accurate judgment when deciding on a plan.
The adoption of mobile Internet within the lower socio-economic segment in India has increased from 38 percent in 2013 to 45 percent in 2015, said Ericsson ConsumerLab report.
The growth driver for the mobile Internet adoption is the availability of cost effective smartphones in India. India has around 900 million mobile customers.
3 in 5 smartphone users use mobile broadband in urban India. Smartphone penetration in mid-size and small cities is 33 percent against of 27 percent in big non metros and large cities.
The proportion of smartphone users above the age of 50 has quadrupled, from 1 percent in 2013 to 4 percent in 2015. The main motivation for this increase is the desire to connect with loved ones, particularly through emails, chat applications and instant messaging.
Ajay Gupta, vice president and head of Strategy and Marketing, Ericsson India, said: “Though the most used smartphone services in India are for social networking and instant messaging, the usage of banking, e-commerce, navigation and cloud storage apps and services is increasing.”
Indian telecom industry is seeing uptake and digital transformation of many industries like retail, transportation, and banking.
Video streaming accounts for the fastest growing service on mobile data, followed by social networking. 70 percent of mobile broadband smartphone users regularly stream videos on their smartphones, and 61 percent use social networking.
Of those users not using e-commerce services currently, 58 percent stated that they would begin to do so in the next six months, while 52 percent will use the internet to pay bill online. Services like location navigation while travelling and cloud storage are also seeing an upswing in usage.
editor@telecomlead.com
