Mobile users consumed 54,917 million GB data till Sept: Trai

The volume of total wireless data usage increased from 828 million GB during the year 2014 to 46,404 million GB during the year 2018. However, the appetite for data usage in 2019 is expected to surpass the previous year by a significant margin since it has already touched of 54,917 million GB till September 2019, according to an analysis by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Total number of wireless data subscribers increased from 281.58 million at the end of year 2014 to 664.80 million at the end of September 2019 and achieving a yearly growth rate of 36.36% in 2018 over 2017 (Y-o-Y), Trai said.

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“The volume of total wireless data usage increased from 828 million GB during the year 2014 to 46,404 million GB during the year 2018-19. The wireless data usage in the year 2019 is expected to surpass the previous year usage by a significant margin as reflected by usage of 54,917 million GB till September 2019,” it said.

In 2018, 46,406 million GB data were used and in 2017, it was 20,092 million GB. Before 2016, only 4642 million GB data were used, the analysis noted.

The regulator said the last four years have witnessed unprecedented growth in wireless data usage for communication and entertainment. With the entry of a new TSP using Long Term Evolution (LTE)/4G technology and the subsequent gradual adaptation of this technology by the leading incumbents, data usage has grown by leaps and bounds, and it is expected to grow further in future also.

(With inputs from agencies)