3G Network: Spreading Wings

For the first time since its introduction in India, the third generation or 3G network of the Mobile Telecommunications Industry out-casted 2G network in terms of usage. According to Nokia's Annual Mbit Index study on mobile broadband performance in India, the average 3G data consumption per user increased to 753 megabytes for the year 2015, a record 85 percent growth even as the booming 4G handset market is expected to further boost data traffic in 2016.

The growing number of smartphone devices and an increase in the consumption of multimedia content has contributed to this growth. Sandeep Girotra, Nokia vice-president and head of the India market, while launching Nokia Mbit study said, “We have seen about 85 per cent growth in 3G data consumption and India is now moving close to the global average consumption per person. In India, it has reached to 753 megabytes data per month, while globally; it is in a range of 800 megabytes to 1 gigabyte”.

The usage comparison of 3G data with 2G data across India pointed to 3G data usage at 82 petabytes or 8.2 crore GB per month at the end of 2015 compared with 44 petabytes a month at the end of 2014. 2G mobile internet usage grew only by 12 percent to 46 petabytes from 41 petabytes a month between 2015 and 2014, the report revealed.

Nokia attributed aggressive 3G network expansion in existing circles and new launches by operators to have played an instrumental role in increasing data traffic in India. The mobile company also expects that this data traffic growth will be boosted in coming years by the auction of additional spectrum, an increase in smartphone penetration and the development of the content ecosystem. Moreover, the rapid evolution of the device ecosystem, supported by a decline in prices, presents significant growth opportunities for operators as they launch and expand 4G LTE networks in coming years.

According to the Nokia report, overall mobile data traffic grew by 50% in 2015 led to a two-fold increase in 3G device penetration across India, with 1 in every 3 devices in India being 3G enabled. The usage of 3G devices has grown by 140 percent and subscribers by 69 percent on year-on-year basis. Around 38-42 per cent of mobile data is spent on video and audio services, 18-22 percent on social networking, 1-20 percent on communication services and 20-24 percent for other services.

The study further states that with an increase in the number of digital content services in India, 4G LTE device ecosystem grew over eight-fold in 2015. The report says operators could look into offering high-speed mobile internet through Dual Channel HSPA (DC-HSPA), as a short-term substitute for 4G LTE. DC-HSPA uses two cells in parallel to transmit High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) data to mobile devices at doubled downlink rates, peaking up to 42 Mbps.