India’s largest metro city and so-called ‘economical capital of India’ – Mumbai become the top most city in India with highest Internet penetration. According to a report by Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] Mumbai has around 12 million internet users, ahead of Delhi with 8.1 million internet users and Hyderabad with 4.7 million internet users.
The IT hub of India, Bangalore managed to grab only 3.8 million internet users and ranked at sixth position. Ahead of Bangalore, Chennai placed at fourth position with 4.5 million internet users and Kolkata at fifth position with 4.4 million internet users. But when considering year-to-year growth of internet users, Kolkata registered the highest growth of internet users among all the top cities in India with 47% y-o-y growth, while Mumbai managed to get 45% y-o-y growth placed second while Bangalore with a growth y-o-y of 43% is third.
Overall when taking into account the top four Indian metros, they register 37% penetration of active internet users. Among the other four Metros, Hyderabad leads the chart with a penetration of 37% active internet users. While Coimbatore with a 40% penetration leads in the small metros category.
“Easy access to internet on mobile phones has resulted in greater internet penetration across India, with smartphones available at a range of prices. Most phones now have internet. Many features on these phones will not be available without internet. Those who began using the net several years ago will not stop doing so today, and have continued using the internet over the years. The growth in internet users is because of new users belonging to lower-income groups.” says Nilotpal Chakravarti, associate vice-president, IAMAI.
Source – IAMAI