Question : INTERNET USERS

(a) whether India has become the 2nd largest internet economy in the world with the prospect of the number of internet users in India likely to cross half a billion in the next three years;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the share of data in the overall revenue of telecom operators is likely to rise from 10-12 per cent in 2013 to 35-40 per cent in 2020 and the telecom operators will have to make substantial investment to improve infrastructure;

(d) if so, the details thereof;

(e) whether the Union Government has recognized broadband connectivity as a basic necessity and plan to provide broadband on demand at higher speed i.e. at least 100 mega bits per second; and

(f) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (f) Madam, as per the information provided by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the number of internet including broadband subscribers in the country is 267.39 million, as on 31st December 2014. Further, according to a report ‘Internet in India 2014’ jointly published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International, the internet users are estimated to be more than 300 million.

The trend of share of data in the revenue of mobile telecom operators for the recent periods is as given below:

 Quarter ending	Revenue from data usage as a percent of total revenue from subscribers June 2013	9.7% September 2013	11.6% December 2013	13.2% March 2014	13.9% June 2014	15.0% September 2014	17.1%