Covid-19: 89% senior Indian citizens relied on video calling during crisis

A report released by Ericsson Consumer Labs suggests 89 per cent Indians aged 60 and above agree that reliable video calling helped them stay in touch with persons close to them during Covid-19 crisis

A report released on Friday by Ericsson Consumer Labs suggests that 89 per cent of Indians aged 60 and above agree that reliable video calling helped them to stay in touch with persons close to them during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In a joint webinar conducted today, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and Ericson shared the findings of a report concerning "Indians and their behavioural pattern" with regards to telecommunications during the pandemic.

"Eighty per cent Indians agreed that connectivity and devices helped them in staying in touch with their family and friends. A total of 77 per cent believed that it helped their children with easy access to education and the same percentage also believed that it helped them to fulfil their work commitments," a press release read.

The release said that despite fixed networks facing an increase in the traffic, 65 per cent of Indians consider mobile broadband to be as crucial as Wi-Fi.

Besides the launch of the report, COAI also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACIA), working party of ZVEI German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association, to shape and promote 5G mobile communications.

Sharing his views during the webinar, Rajan Mathews, DG, COAI, said, "We are delighted that the critical role played by the telecom sector during the pandemic is noted. We would also like to highlight that, India is on the verge of a big 5G revolution in the coming years. The learnings and consumer insights from Ericsson on 5G will be invaluable for the industry as we gear up for 5G rollout in India."

Nitin Bansal, MD Ericson India said that Ericson is known to have 40 live 5G networks across the world and by 2025, nearly half of the world's mobile data traffic will be on 5G networks, said

"India would play a key role in the 5G revolution and 18 per cent of the country's mobile subscriptions would be constituted with 5G by 2025," he said.

The report said that average monthly mobile data usage per smartphone in India continues to show robust growth, boosted by the rapid adoption of 4G. Additional 410 million smartphones users are expected in India by 2025, it said.