Home Internet usage in India creeps up

FROM EMARKETER

But it's still not the next China online.

Internet users in urban India totaled 30.32 million in April 2007, according to JuxtConsult. That is up 28% over the number of users reported in April 2006.

JuxtConsult claims that the growth of Internet usage in cybercafes drove the total in 2006, but that increased Internet usage at home was the big story in 2007. Home Internet usage in India grew 19% from April 2006 to April 2007.

Gauging an accurate measure of regular Internet users is difficult in India as a whole (including rural usage), due to the majority of Internet users accessing the Internet from cybercafes and the sheer size of the population.

eMarketer estimates there will be 71 million total Internet users in India by 2011.

The variety of comparative estimates eMarketer has assembled for India paints a confused picture. Internet users could number anywhere between 18 million and 60 million! eMarketer has assessed that the numbers from the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) as well as past JuxtConsult data seem more plausible than most.

JuxtConsult calculated that at least three out of four regular urban home Internet users in April 2007 had broadband connections.

India is often mentioned in the same breath as China when it comes to emerging markets, but the numbers tell a different story. Despite the 19% jump in urban home Internet usage, such home access is still a novelty for most of the country. This is especially true for broadband.

eMarketer forecasts that by 2011 there will be 10.5 million broadband households in India, up from less than one million in 2005.

SOURCE: EMARKETER