India’s 5G users are using around 3.6 times as much mobile data traffic compared to 4G since its launch in October 2022, and users consumed 17.4 exabytes per month with a CAGR of 26 per cent over the past five years, a report said on Wednesday.

According to Nokia’s annual Indian market-focused Mobile Broadband Index (MBiT), the launch of 5G has emerged as a significant catalyst for the growth in data usage, contributing to 15 per cent of all data traffic in 2023.

The report highlighted a paradigm shift in the Indian mobile data landscape driven by the growing adoption of 5G technology, it said adding that 5G traffic has shown substantial growth across all telecom circles, with metro circles leading the charge and reaching a 20 per cent share in the overall mobile data traffic.

Enhanced 5G availability and performance, coupled with the availability of wide range of affordable devices, as well as the introduction of new data-intensive apps and services, will accelerate future 5G growth. The average monthly data traffic per user also surged by 24 per cent year-on-year in 2023, reaching 24.1 gigabytes per user per month, the Nokia report said.

Rising data consumption

Going forward, mobile data consumption will continue to grow, with average monthly data per user expected to increase by over 24 per cent by the end of 2024, driven by 5G. The Nokia MBiT report further said that 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) is expected emerge as a perfect complement to communications service providers (CSP) mobile offerings, bringing new revenues and enabling new services for homes and businesses.

The years leading up to 2030 will produce major shifts in technology, creating up to $5 trillion business opportunity with metaverse, it added.

“What is immediately obvious is the incredible proliferation of 5G technology across India and the increasing demand for super-fast 5G data speeds. Nokia looks forward to continuing to work hand-in-hand with our operator partners to help them meet customer demand,” Tarun Chhabra, Head of Mobile Networks Business at Nokia (India) said.

The key technology themes shaping the world in 2030 will include the Metaverse, AI/ML, Cloud, and Web 3.0 among others, the report said adding that the 5G device ecosystem in India is rapidly evolving, with around 17 per cent of active 4G devices, totalling 134 million out of 796 million, now being 5G capable.

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