India’s internet user base to cross 900 million by 2023: Cisco

India is expected to have over 907 million internet users by 2023, up from 398 million in 2018, a report by Cisco said on Tuesday.

Also, it is estimated that there will be 2.1 billion networked devices by 2023, with machine-to-machine (M2M) modules accounting for 25 per cent (524.3 million) of all networked devices.

According to the report, there will be 907 million internet users (64 per cent of population) in India by 2023, up from 398 million (29 per cent population) in 2018. It added that there will be 966 million total mobile users (68 per cent of population) by 2023, up from 763 million (56 per cent of population) in 2018.

Also, one in 20 connections will be 5G with 67.2 million connections by 2023, it said.

"In India, devices and connections are growing faster (7 per cent compound annual growth rate) than the population (1 per cent CAGR). This trend is accelerating the increase in the average number of devices and connections per household and per capita," the report said.

A growing number of M2M applications such as smart meters, video surveillance, healthcare monitoring, transportation, and package or asset tracking are contributing in a major way to the growth of devices and connections.

"By 2023, M2M connections will be 25 per cent of the total devices and connections," the report said.

Smartphones are estimated to account for 38 per cent (781 million) of all networked devices, while connected TVs will account for 12 per cent (255.8 million) of all networked devices by 2023. In India, 78 per cent of all networked devices will be in the consumer segment by 2023, compared to 83 per cent in 2018, the report said.

Besides, social networking, video streaming and downloads, business productivity, e-commerce, and gaming will drive the continued growth of mobile applications, with nearly 46.2 billion downloaded by 2023. As digital literacy, mobile penetration, and internet connectivity grow deeper into the hinterland, a massive shift will be created in internet usage and consumption patterns across the country, Cisco India and SAARC Managing Director (Service Providers Sales) Anand Bhaskar said.

This rise in connectivity and changing consumption patterns will challenge service providers' ability to service their customers in an optimal manner, he added.

"Service providers and enterprises will continue on the journey towards software-defined everything and edge computing to lower their overall cost per bit and provide the best customer experience," he added.