India to see mobile internet user base at 480 million by 2017

Report suggests data consumption on mobile phones is expected to triple and consumers are seen buying five times as much content

India will see its mobile internet user base more-than-double to 480 million by 2017 from 155 million at present, a joint study conducted by Google India said.

Titled 'Finding The Next Billion Dollar Opportunities', Google India in its report released along with partner A.T. Kearney said Indian telecom companies hold a beefy opportunity going ahead as data consumption on mobile phones is expected to triple and consumers are seen buying five times as much content.

"It is estimated that in next three years, smartphone penetration will grow six times to reach 385 million people and the number of users who transact online will grow to 160 million," the report said.

Indian Telcos are poised to leapfrog directly into a digital play, since the shift from data to digital will happen much faster in India, as more digital content and services are adopted by users, the report quoting Nikolai Dobberstein, a partner at A.T. Kearney as saying. By FY17, the Indian telecom industry is expected to reach $35 billion in revenues, with data revenues growing at over 70 percent per year till then and new digital streams emerging and growing exponentially.

The study outlines that by 2017, data and paid content consumption will double organically to 470 MB data per user per month.

Telecom players need to develop their digital vision and determine their own position on the risk-reward curve of digital plays based on the breadth of digital offerings and intended aggressiveness, states the report.