Mumbai: The overall mobile data traffic grew by 50 per cent in 2015, with 3G traffic outpacing 2G across all circles for the first time. The MbiT Index study, Nokia’s annual report on mobile broadband performance in India revealed that subscriber appetite is growing for multimedia services with video and social networking now making up 60 per cent of data traffic. While 2G growth slowed down by 12 per cent, 3G data posted a growth of 85 per cent.
The study highlighted that video and audio accounted for 38 to 42 per cent of the mobile data traffic while the share of social networking stood at 18-22 per cent.
About 90 per cent of the video traffic was driven by entertainment content. This, according to Nokia, was the result of a mature network, device and content ecosystem. The 3G-device penetration more than doubled during the year while new network launches and expansions in existing circles boosted data adoption beyond larger towns and cities.
Average monthly data usage for 3G surpassed 750 MB per subscriber and, with operators poised to launch 4G networks, faster data speeds will fuel an even greater surge in traffic, the study said.
