650 mn Indians to have internet access by 2020, high-speed for 85%: BCG

Over 40% of mobile phone users in India would be using a smart phone, with 250 mn new users in this space being added every year

As many as 650 million Indians will have a digital footprint (internet access) by 2020, with more than 85 per cent having access to high-speed internet as per an estimate by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

A report ‘ Digital Lending - A USD one trillion opportunity over the next five years’ by BCG estimated that over 40 per cent of mobile phone users in India would be using a smart phone, with 250 million new users in this space being added every year.

“The ‘Jio’ phenomenon has had a remarkable, two-fold impact in enabling internet access for Indians on the small screen. Firstly, high speed and reliable internet access has become almost become ubiquitous across the country. Secondly, the price of data has dropped by a staggering 97 per cent from Rs 200 per GB in April 2016 to about Rs six per GB now,” the report added.

Smartphones in India have become the top device of choice with 43 per cent of users doing research only on smart phones compared to a mere one per cent only on desktops and laptops.

In terms of mobile data traffic per smartphone, India consumes 5.7 GB per month compared with 2.63 GB in China.

“A staggering 98 per cent of loan seekers used a smartphone to research online,”  BCG said in the report.

The report estimated the total value of digital lending business in the country will exceed $1 trillion over the next five years.

BCG said that by 2023, the digital footprint of financial services consumers would increase to 75 per cent from 50 per cent currently. “This is primarily due to explosion of smart phones as well as mobile internet,” the report stated.

Almost 50 per cent of loan seekers with internet access actually bought digitally over the last 12 months, the report added.