Mobile data consumption to reach 99pc by 2021

According to a survey conducted by Ericsson - telecom gear maker - average mobile data consumption per smartphone in India is expected to increase five times and account for 99 percent of total traffic from mobile phones by 2021.

The number of smartphone subscriptions in the country is also expected to register a significant rise and reach 810 million by 2021.

Ericsson Mobility Report India edition stated, "Data traffic per active smartphone is expected to increase fivefold from 1.4 GigaByte (GB) per month in 2015 to 7 GB per month by 2021. In 2021, 99 percent of the region's mobile traffic will be from data."

As per the report, smartphone users drive the need for better data services as mobile phone users in India give more importance to voice than data services. "Young smartphone users aged 15-24 years old drive the need for better data speed and data coverage and have a higher inclination to pay a premium for the same," the report said.

"The WCDMA or HSPA (3G) population coverage is projected to increase to 90 percent by the end of 2021, the population coverage of LTE (4G) networks in India is expected to reach 45 percent by the end of 2021 in India," Ericsson India Region Head Paolo Colella said.

The report also added that "around 50 percent of smartphone user’s stream music on mobile apps every week, and more than one in two internet users watch short online video clips on a weekly basis." WhatsApp Messenger is the top mobile app used on smartphones.

According to the global Ericsson Mobility Report released earlier this month, India grew the most in terms of mobile subscribers with over 21 million net additions in the first quarter this year followed by Myanmar and Indonesia with over 5 million net additions, the US, and Pakistan with over 3 million each.