5G data consumption four times faster than 4G in India: Nokia broadband report

5G users in India are consuming around 3.6 times as much mobile data traffic compared to 4G since its launch in October 2022. In its annual Mobile Broadband Index (MBiT) report, Nokia noted that Indian users have consumed 17.4 exabytes per month with a CAGR of 26 per cent over the past five years.

According to Nokia, the launch of 5G has emerged as a significant catalyst for the growth in data usage, contributing to 15 per cent of all data traffic in 2023. India's 5G network was rolled out in 2022 by carriers, Reliance Jio, Airtel, and others, and is set to cover the entire country by the end of the month.

The report stated that there has been a paradigm shift in the Indian mobile data landscape driven by the growing adoption of 5G technology. 5G traffic has shown substantial growth across all telecom circles, with metro circles leading the charge and reaching a 20 per cent share in the overall mobile data traffic.

The average monthly data traffic per user also surged by 24 per cent year-on-year in 2023, reaching 24.1 gigabytes per user per month, the Nokia report said.

The report noted that the 5G device ecosystem in India is rapidly evolving, with approximately 17% of active 4G devices, totalling 134 million out of 796 million, now being 5G capable.

Enhanced 5G availability and performance, coupled with the affordability of a wide range of devices, have fueled the growth of 5G data usage. Additionally, the introduction of new data-intensive apps and services has further accelerated this growth.

Data consumption in future

Going forward, mobile data consumption will continue to grow, with average monthly data per user expected to increase by over 24 per cent by the end of 2024, driven by 5G. The Nokia MBiT report stated that 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) is expected emerge as a perfect complement to communications service providers (CSP) mobile offerings, bringing new revenues and enabling new services for homes and businesses.

The next few years till 2030 will see major shifts in technology, creating up to $5 trillion business opportunity with metaverse, it added.

The key themes coming up in the next few years will include the Metaverse, AI/ML, Cloud, and Web 3.0 among others, the report said adding that the 5G device ecosystem in India is rapidly evolving, with around 17 per cent of active 4G devices, totalling 134 million out of 796 million, now being 5G capable.