According to a GSMA report released on Wednesday, rollouts in India were attributed for more than half of the nearly 750 million additional people who were covered by 5G in 2023.
Mobile networks have significantly improved the user experience; in 2023, average download speeds worldwide increased from 34 Mbps to 48 Mbps.
This rise is the most absolute and relative growth to date.
India’s 5G Rollout Covers 750 Million Indians
The most significant increase was in South Asia, where average download speeds increased by 70% as a result of India’s rollout of 5G.
In contrast to many other nations examined, smartphone ownership increased in India’s rural areas between 2022 and 2023.
Literate mobile internet users tended to participate in a wider variety of weekly activities than those with lower literacy levels in the seven nations with a suitable sample size for the survey.
Remarkably, mobile internet users with low literacy levels in India participate in at least eight distinct online activities per week, outpacing both literate and low-literacy groups in every other country under study.
3.45 Billion People Still Not Covered
According to the survey, 3.45 billion people are still not connected, despite the fact that mobile internet availability is growing internationally. An estimated $3.5 trillion more might be added to the GDP between 2023 and 2030 if those with access to current mobile internet services were connected.
Significant digital divides still exist, according to John Giusti, Chief Regulatory Officer at GSMA, despite continuous improvements in network infrastructure and the uptake of mobile internet.
He stated, “Although most users access mobile internet daily, their activities are often limited to just one or two activities, even though many express a desire to do more. This highlights persistent barriers to enabling meaningful connectivity, preventing users from getting online and getting the full benefits of the mobile internet.”
Despite their desire to do more, many users only complete one or two things each day when they use mobile internet.
This circumstance highlights the ongoing barriers that keep consumers from attaining significant connectivity and reaping the full benefits of mobile internet access.
57% of the world’s population, or 4.6 billion people, use mobile internet on their own devices at the moment.
There is a coverage gap since 350 million people, or 4% of the world’s population, live in mostly isolated places without mobile internet connection.
There is a usage gap of about 3.1 billion individuals (39% of the world’s population) who live within mobile internet coverage but do not use it.
