Internet of things (IoT) technology is moving beyond people in India, for connecting devices, vehicles, household appliances, and machines. As per a recent joint study by Assocham and EY, there will more than 2 billion connected devices in the country by 2022, unlocking a revenue potential of around $11.1 billion.
IoT is transforming the way people live, shop, stay healthy, play, work, and use technology. On average, an Indian spends more than 200 minutes a day on smartphones.
The report states that over 460 million people in India are using internet today. In terms of data consumption per day, India ranks #1 around the world, consuming 76PB data daily. China and the US follow India, consuming 69PB and 53PB data per day.
This shows that India is a mobile-first economy with 96% of people accessing internet using mobile, higher than the average for emerging markets at 80%.
One of the main reasons behind picking mobile as the most preferred way to use internet is the increased affordability of internet service in the country.
“Fast forward to India 2022, 5 new mobile connections per second are estimated to join the power of internet. Nearly 50% of the households are likely to be connected through fixed broadband. The future is gigabit speed and 5G will power new waves of transformation. Connectivity will move beyond people to connect billion of devices, vehicles, household appliances and machines,” states the joint report.
82% of this data is consumed on 4G technology. In 2017, the consumption of 4G data grew by 135%, whereas 3G data consumption grew by 286%. Also, 90% of the smartphones sold in 2017 were 4G capable. Going ahead, commercial 5G that targets M2M and IoT will be launched in India by 2020.
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Indian government has set a roadmap this year, the National Digital Communications Policy 2018, which aspires to connect, propel, and secure India’s digital economy. This policy will propel India towards a $1 trillion digital economy by 2025.