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India has the highest data usage per smartphone

thehindu.com

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Re: India has the highest data usage per smartphone

#3
Jio revolution is the main reason for this, after Jio almost every other vendor is giving you 30Gb(1Gb per day) for $5-6 , no wonder, there is a %30-40 utilization of data.

Majority of this utilization would be on Streaming, Torrent downloads etc etc, Also to note that , many of the calls made in India are VOLTE calls..

Re: India has the highest data usage per smartphone

#4
post #2

I wonder how much of this is attributable to a rise in streaming (Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc.) but a lack in investment for fixed-line internet.

Last mile fixed lines are outrageously expensive compared to wireless infrastructure, with the result being that many countries with limited land lines have wireless infrastructure other, more industrialized countries can only dream about.

To put it this way: I had more reliable coverage and lots more bandwidth available just outside Mogadishu than I've ever had in San Francisco.

I am not joking.

Re: India has the highest data usage per smartphone

#5
This is surely due to cost of data. It baffles me that we have so much regulation and so many entrenched players that there is little room for competition, leading to higher prices. The question is, how do you prevent the natural monopolies of a finite resource (like wireless spectrum)? The first thing I could think of is stopping the Sprint - T-Mobile merger, but I'm not confident Sprint will keep its head above water much longer without it. Maybe it's better to have the airwaves resold? Or maybe not, as one of the big existing telcos will buy them at auction.

Can any one conceive of a reasonable solution to this? Ideally one which involves minimum government intervention.

Re: India has the highest data usage per smartphone

#8

It might be the videos shared on WhatsApp, TikTok, Youtube, then the Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar consumption. We were deprived for the longest, being offered a gigabyte for a month for $5 - $10, and now we have practically free mobile connectivity with data.

> being offered a gigabyte for a month for $5 - $10

a gigabyte per day per month at the very least. some plans (see other comments) offer 1.5GB per day for 91 days at the same overall cost of $5-$10.

Re: India has the highest data usage per smartphone

#9

It might be the videos shared on WhatsApp, TikTok, Youtube, then the Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar consumption. We were deprived for the longest, being offered a gigabyte for a month for $5 - $10, and now we have practically free mobile connectivity with data.

> Netflix, Amazon Prime

Very few subscribe. Youtube would be the majority in my opinion. Hotstar too, but only during cricket matches.

Local content on Youtube is on the rise.

Example:

Technical Guruji (A Hindi tech channel) has way more subscribers than MKBHD - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOhHO2ICt0ti9KAh-QHvttQ

A Punjabi song is nearing a billion views : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpkJO_GrCo0

It is a largely untapped market and ripe for takeover.

Re: India has the highest data usage per smartphone

#10
post #4
post #2

I wonder how much of this is attributable to a rise in streaming (Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc.) but a lack in investment for fixed-line internet.

Last mile fixed lines are outrageously expensive compared to wireless infrastructure, with the result being that many countries with limited land lines have wireless infrastructure other, more industrialized countries can only dream about. To put it this way: I had more reliable coverage and lots more bandwidth available just outside Mogadishu than I've ever had in San Francisco. I am not joking.

You'll likely have the same experience in Houston, Phoenix or Nashville (etc). San Francisco is just too dense, too many people and devices.
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