Internet Access In India Has Crossed 50-Crore Milestone - TRAI
By MYBRANDBOOK
With the target fixed by Modi Govt. within three years the number of Internet connection has grown by 65% from March 2016 to cross the 50 crore mark in 2018, as per the last report submitted by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) by the end of September 2018 and there were 56 crore narrow-band and broadband connections in India.
With a comparison to March 31 2016, there were just 34 crore connections, which increased to 42 crore by March 31, 2017. By March 31, 2018, the total number of internet connections stood at 49 crore. That number increased to 51 crore internet connections at the end of June this year before the figure touched 56 crore as of September 30, 2018.
In December 2015, Union telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said: “My plan is to make 50 crore internet connections in India by 2018. I’m convinced that in the coming 2-3 years, India will become equal to China as an IT market of the world.”
Of the 56 crore connections, 64%, or 36 crore, are in the urban areas and 36%, or 19.4 crore, in the rural areas. While more service providers are focusing on rural areas, experts credit the increase in the hinterland to the infrastructure created by the government. The massive growth in urban centers on the other hand is attributed to the entry of Reliance Jio.
Professor Debabrata Das from the International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIIT-B), who was an integral part of the Center’s National Information Infrastructure version 2.0 (NII 2.0), says: “The infrastructure created by state-run BSNL and the Center’s BharatNet project that envisages connecting all gram panchayats with internet through an optical fibre network must be seen as crucial for the rural connections.”
Just five states - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (including Telangana), Gujarat and Maharashtra - account for 20 crore or 36% of all internet connections in India.
Compared to 2016, Karnataka reported a 58% growth in the number of internet connections, while the same was 45% for Tamil Nadu, 76% for Andhra Pradesh, 56% for Maharashtra and 70% for Gujarat.
“The huge increase is largely because of Jio. While BharatNet has created the infrastructure, the actual number of people using it is not much given that most subscribers have wireless connections,” Aravind Kumar, senior advisor, TRAI.
Separate data from Trai shows that as of June 30, 2018, Reliance Jio was way ahead of all the other players in terms of market share, with state-run BSNL at the fifth spot. Sources in Trai said the same internet service providers continued to hold the top five positions.
Boosting rural connectivity, the Center’s BharatNet project has so far connected 1.1 lakh gram panchayats (GPs)with internet through a network of optical fiber cable. Of the states, UP has the maximum GPs connected (27,940), followed by Maharashtra (15,126) and Madhya Pradesh (12,689)
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
Legal Battle Over IT Act Intensifies Amid Musk’s India Plans
The outcome of the legal dispute between X Corp and the Indian government c...
Wipro inks 10-year deal with Phoenix Group's ReAssure UK worth
The agreement, executed through Wipro and its 100% subsidiary,...
Centre announces that DPDP Rules nearing Finalisation by April
The government seeks to refine the rules for robust data protection, ensuri...
Home Ministry cracks down on PoS agents in digital arrest scam
Digital arrest scams are a growing cybercrime where victims are coerced or ...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Hrithik Roshan to endorse RuPay as Brand Ambassador
RuPay is reportedly planning to feature Bollywood superstar Hrithik Rosha
India Today Group launches – AI Pop Stars
Staying true to our industry leadership position in using cutting-edge tech
MOVERS & SHAKERS
TelioLabs ropes in Phaniraj V A as the Group CEO
TelioLabs has announced the onboarding of Phaniraj V A as its new Group CE
Wipro Appoints Amit Kumar as Managing Partner and Global Head
Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading technology s
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
Bolstering its commitment to help build a truly self-reliant B
CP PLUS is dedicated to spreading a sense of security to every corner of In
Autodesk continually pushing the boundaries in the Design and
Autodesk’s vision is of a better world designed and made for all. It inte
HOT PICK
MSI Announces the availability of RTX 50 series of laptops in
MSI, the innovative computing manufacturer in gaming, creator
Nothing Phone (3a) goes on sale today, starting at Rs 19,999
The phone was launched on March 4, featuring a 50MP main, ultra-wide, and t
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
TECHROUTES NETWORK PRIVATE LIMITED
INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD.
EXIDE INDUSTRIES LTD.
BHARAT ELECTRONICS LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
Icons Of India : Anil Agarwal
Anil Agarwal, the Founder and Chairman of Vedanta Resources Ltd., is r...
Icons Of India : NANDAN NILEKANI
Nandan Nilekani is the Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys Technologies...
ICONS OF INDIA : RAJESH NAMBIAR
Rajesh leads the company’s India associates and enhances relationshi...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
HPCL - Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
HPCL is an integrated oil and gas company involved in refining, market...
DRDO - Defence Research and Development Organisation
DRDO responsible for the development of technology for use by the mili...
IREDA - Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited
IREDA is a specialized financial institution in India that facilitates...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Global Indian industry
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO- Micron Technology
Sanjay Mehrotra, the President and CEO of Micron Technology, is at the...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - ARVIND KRISHNA, CEO – IBM
Arvind Krishna, an Indian-American business executive, serves as the C...
Indian Tech Talent Excelling The Tech World - Thomas Kurian, CEO- Google Cloud
Thomas Kurian, the CEO of Google Cloud, has been instrumental in expan...
ITFORUM 2025
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
IMAGE GALLERY
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
of images belongs to the respective copyright holders
