Rural internet users to rise to 85 million by June 2014: IAMAI

There will be 68 million claimed Internet users and 46 million active internet users in rural India by the end of October 2013, according to the i-Cube report titled, 'Internet in Rural India' by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB, which released on 22 October. The report estimates that by December 2013, there will be 72 million claimed Internet users and 49 million active Internet users in rural India. By June 2014, claimed internet users in rural India will rise to 85 million and active internet users to 56 million. The report also finds that around 61% or 25 million of active Internet users access Internet at least once a week.

According to the report, the number of active Internet users has seen 58% growth since June 2012. In a statement IAMAI further said, the report finds that there are 21 million active mobile internet users in rural India in June 2013 - a 5.3 times growth in 2013 over 2012 and nearly 47 times over 2010. It is estimated that by October 2013, there will be 25 million active mobile internet users and 27 million by December 2013.

Nearly 42% of the internet users prefer to access Internet only in local languages. With more content becoming available in the local languages, more users will start using the internet, states the report. The findings of the report reveal that majority of the rural internet population is not comfortable in accessing Internet in English and this is holding them back from using internet fully for other purposes than online entertainment.

According to the report, only 9% of the active internet users transact online. With a very low awareness level, Online transaction is still in its infancy and there is a pressing need to educate and inform the user of the benefits of the internet services to drive the growth of internet usage.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/3369-rural-internet-users-to-rise-to-85-million-by-june-2014-iamai.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/3369-rural-internet-users-to-rise-to-85-million-by-june-2014-iamai.html