India's Rural Internet Users to Reach 45 Million by Year-End

Published on: 5th Sep 2012

Rural India has 38 million claimed internet users and 31 million active internet users, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB. The penetration of claimed internet users in rural India has grown from 2.6 percent in 2010 to 4.6 percent in 2012, a CAGR of 73 percent. On the other hand, the penetration of active internet users has grown from 2.13 percent in 2010 to 3.7 percent in 2012.

According to the report, the number of claimed internet users in rural India is expected to reach 45 million by December 2012.

Commenting on the report Dr. Subho Ray, President of IAMAI stated, "This is just the tip of the iceberg, in the next two years, a combination of affordable smart phones, optic fibre backbone and local language content is likely to change the beat all projections of internet growth in rural areas."

­The report further states that mobile phones are fast emerging as an important point of internet access in rural India. As of June 2012, there were 3.6 million mobile internet users in India, a growth of 7.2 times from 0.5 million in 2010.

Community Service Centres (CSC) and Cyber Caf?s are the major point of access for internet users in rural India. 57.7 percent of the internet users accessed internet through this common user points. A significant 12 percent of the internet users access internet on their mobile phones.

Entertainment is the primary driver of internet use in rural India. 75 percent of rural users use internet for entertainment while 56 percent use it for communications Users like to access music, videos and photos for entertainment.

There is a growing interest amongst the rural constituents seeking information on education. 81 percent of claimed internet users seek information pertaining to school / university and exam centres.

 

Tags: [India]