The internet comes to India I 30 `75 VOL 27 ISSUE 09 SEPTEMBER 2020 www.voicendata.com Connecting the Digital World The Achilles heel of mobile-first nation
As a large and fast-growing mobile economy India ranks #1 on the target list of fraudsters. It is also the second-largest victim of mobile ad frauds globally
MONEY LOST 22.6% of global mobile media spend was wasted in 2019 due to mobile ad fraud
PLATFORMS AT RISK Android apps have a fraud rate of 30%, 2.5 times higher than 12% rate of iOS
SIZE MATTERS 20% of large apps have 30% fraud, compared to 13% among medium-sized apps
84 pages including cover Special subscription offer on Page 62 YEARS [INTERNET IN INDIA]
Shivaji Chatterjee Meeting aspirations of a billion Indians India has achieved a lot in the last 25 years. To ensure internet for all, the country now needs to focus on satellite technologies like HTS and LEO
ndia is the second-largest telecommunications permitted the licensing of companies other than VSNL market with a growing spread of connectivity, to provide the services. In March 1998, the number of Iopening up new ways for people to connect, engage, subscribers touched the 100,000 mark and witnessed learn, shop, and entertain; completely transforming further boost, eventually crossing 1,50,000-mark in the lives of our citizens. With an always-connected the next few months. The subsequent involvement and life experience and devices all around us, the internet participation from the private sector helped the nation is today entrenched deeply into our lives. But, looking make significant progress in expanding infrastructure back at the early days of the internet, it was a luxury to and internet services and making it more affordable. even afford a dial-up connection. Among the early movers, top Indian news outlets More than two decades ago, India witnessed the made headway towards creating a digital presence first spark of this new revolutionary technology and and setting up their websites. At the same time, Indian ecosystem – the internet. Although a luxury for most, the entrepreneurs worked towards shaping some of the anticipation and excitement around the new technology finest digital ventures, including Naukri.com and Rediff. was such that VSNL, responsible for rolling out the com creating a dot.com boom. As India entered the commercial internet in India, got 10,000 subscribers new millennium (2000), the internet also progressed to within the first six months. become an increasingly important part of day-to-day life for a growing segment of society. But, the growth was not Chronicles from the journey proportional to the possibilities that existed since many On 14 August 1995, VSNL introduced public internet middle-class Indians still owned personal computers that access with dial-up connections in six cities, with were not connected to the internet. continued efforts towards expanding the service across India. During the initial phase, only government agencies Even as the world progressed to high-speed were authorized to be an Internet Service Provider (ISP), connections, the internet speed in India was significantly limiting the spread of services beyond the limited urban lower compared to global benchmarks. Nevertheless, the communities. Besides, the service experience was largely opportunities and scale of the Indian market attracted unreliable, with slow, inconsistent connections and major digital companies to invest and create resources excessive pricing. But, with growing interest around the targeted at local users. Tech behemoths like Microsoft, internet, the policymakers also pressed on the efforts Yahoo, and Google looked to explore India’s possibilities towards improving and expanding it. with country-focused websites. Google also opened its first office in India in 2004. In 1995, several value-added services, including e-mail and the operation of private networks were India, however, witnessed the most significant (and permitted. One of the most significant developments in positive) disruption in the internet ecosystem around the evolution of the internet in India was the formulation 2010 with the growing adoption of advanced mobile of a new Internet Service Provider policy, which and wireless technologies. The government’s decision
64 I VOICE&DATA I September 2020 I A CyberMedia Publication www.voicendata.com [INTERNET IN INDIA] YEARS
India witnessed the most significant disruption in the internet ecosystem around 2010 with the growing adoption of advanced mobile and wireless technologies.
to allocate spectrum for 3G and its quick, subsequent and address the users’ needs in every possible vertical, offering of 4G services vastly contributed to this dynamic from education to health, video, and e-commerce. It has surge. Affordable mobile devices and hyper-competition also provided users with a choice for content today – be led to lower mobile data prices that encouraged users to it text, audio, or video, and the platforms to connect and experience and acknowledge the power of the internet. voice their opinion.
Fast forward to the present – India has the second- In the next few years, India will deploy 5G networks highest number of internet users and possibly the lowest to improve network speed and enable more applications, mobile data prices in the world at Rs 7 per GB, according especially in urban areas. The wireless broadband service to Nokia’s annual Mobile Broadband India Traffic Index will only get that much stronger with 5G. Even with (MBiT) report. such progress, the stark reality is that a large section of the country’s population still does not have reliable, Taking the next big leap broadband internet access. Whilst there is a strong The growing exposure to the world outside today reflects impetus on driving connectivity through the rollout of India’s young population’s choice and ambitions. From optical fibre across villages, it is not an easy project to chat groups to social networking sites, matrimonial to accomplish given the length and breadth of the country classifieds, education, and e-commerce, collaboration and the fact that the program has reached about only and digital payments, the internet has provided pathways 20% of our villages in eight years since inception. to the new models of engagement, and in the process transformed the country’s culture. In the past two and Satellite technology through its new advancements of half decades, the internet has completely transformed High-Throughput Satellites (HTS) and Low Earth Orbit the world around and has contributed vastly to India’s (LEO) will provide the requisite 100% reliable coverage economic growth. that Digital India needs to truly empower every citizen, irrespective of where they are. From creating significant opportunities for Indian startups to fuelling multinational companies’ growth, The author Shivaji Chatterjee is SVP and Head of Enterprise the internet has completely overhauled the business Business at Hughes Communications India (P) Ltd landscape. Besides, the surge in internet penetration across India has also encouraged entrepreneurs to launch [email protected] www.voicendata.com VOICE&DATA I September 2020 I A CyberMedia Publication I 65