As many as 31 million smartphone users in India are expected to upgrade to 5G handsets between now and December, an Ericsson report said on Tuesday, underscoring the accelerated adoption of ultra-fast services in the world’s second-largest telecoms market.
Ericsson estimates that the current number of 5G mobile phone users in India is between 800 million and 100 million.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India in October last year, and operators such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have rapidly rolled out these services across the country in the past few months.
A global survey released by Swedish telecom maker Ericsson Consumer Labs on Tuesday said 5G users in India stand out for its high-quality daily applications such as streaming high-definition video, video calling services, mobile games and augmented reality.
The biggest takeaway is 5G satisfaction and the willingness of some respondents to pay a premium for innovative services and differentiated 5G connections.
On average, Indian 5G users spend two hours more per week using these services compared to users in other early 5G adopter markets such as the US, UK, South Korea, and China.
“We estimate that approximately 31 million users will upgrade to 5G phones in the remaining months of 2023,” Jasmeet Singh Sethi, head of Ericsson Consumer Labs, said in a briefing.
Another key finding of the report is that India’s 5G satisfaction levels rival or exceed those of the 5G early adopter market.
“A total of 15% of Indian consumers are interested in adding application packages, including video on demand, games and music, to their 5G plans, even if the cost is higher. They are prepared to pay a 14% premium for these services,” the Ericsson report said.
While the need for larger data buckets remains the most prominent consumer expectation for 5G plans, it’s worth noting that 31% of 5G users tend to exhaust their data allotment by the end of the month. 58% of 5G users found that they had more than 30GB of unused data by the end of the month.
“This demonstrates the clear need for service providers to explore more innovative ways to develop 5G monetization strategies beyond just offering higher data traffic to better align with consumer preferences and usage patterns,” the report contends.
As 5G coverage expands in India, there are significant opportunities to unlock greater value.
The report states: “By offering segmented 5G solutions using QoS (Quality of Service) products, providers can attract 22% of smartphone users who express interest and are willing to pay a 13% premium for this enhanced experience. “
Recently, Ookla said that the launch of 5G services in India has significantly improved mobile download speeds in India, lifting the country’s ranking by 72 spots to 47th in the Speedtest Global Index, ahead of countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.
Ookla said India’s speed performance has improved by 3.59 times since the introduction of 5G, calling the country’s 5G progress “remarkable.”
In this global ranking, India not only ranks ahead of neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but also ahead of Mexico (90th), Turkey (68th), the United Kingdom (62nd), Japan (58th), etc. Some G20 countries. ), Brazil (50th) and South Africa (48th).
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