NEW DELHI: Internet usage has evolved more in 'depth' than in 'spread' in its decade long presence in India,' a study said.

Internet's impact and growth is being driven through 'increased usage' by existing users rather than assimilation of newer ones, the study conducted by JustConsult said.

The study done among the Internet users in April 2005 sampled over 30,000 users. To estimate the penetration of Internet among urban Indians a telephone survey spread across ten cities with over 3,000 participants was also conducted.

The study finds that around 17.5 million urban Indians are using the Internet with certain consistency. With another 5.2 million using it sparingly, its upper limit is around 23 million urban users at present.

This puts the penetration of Internet among urban Indians at around nine percent. Assuming marginal usage in rural areas, the national penetration level stands at a potential two percent.

In terms of 'depth' of usage, almost a third of urban Internet users are heavy users with log time of more than three hours every day. Interestingly, one out of every three heavy Internet users is connected 'throughout the day' and a third of those are logging in at least five times a day.

The profile of a characteristic net user is exceedingly inconsistent with the projected notion that he/she is a 'white collared professional'. The professional most likely does not represent more than the 'tip' of the iceberg of the urban Indian net users. The typical net user is more the average person. However, he does represent a 'reasonably' decent purchasing power. Every three out of four net users own an automobile of some kind and every second net user has a credit card.

To grow exponentially in urban India, Internet would need to break two major barriers.

One is the 'real' barrier of solving technical issues related to speed and connectivity. This is the biggest reason for users not spending more time online.

The second is the 'perceptual' barrier of creating a more 'persuasive' relevance of Internet in people's overall lives rather than it being restricted to the work domain. This poses a challenge for marketers who need to convert net users into net consumers, the study said.