The world’s second most populous country cooped up indoors during the lockdown, Indian telecom carriers have witnessed at least a 30 per cent jump in traffic over the the last two weeks. While revenue growth may still be some time away, the volume growth has been phenomenal as it takes around a year to hit these kind of growth numbers. The country has been in a lockdown since 25 March, with its 1.3 billion population staying indoors. According to the initial plan the 21-day lockdown was to end on 14 April but was extended by another 19 days to 3 May, bringing India to a standstill. This in turn has spurred demand for entertainment and communication as apart from accessing video streaming platforms; Indians are also using this down time to connect with their friends and family. Telecom carriers have also seen a significant data usage increase from states such as Haryana and Bihar.
According to a report by data measurement firm Nielsen, the amount of internet data used in India has grown by 19 per cent in week four of covid-19 disruption as compared to the pre-covid period. The growth is driven by an older age group with the consumption of the 35-plus category having risen by 35 per cent. Video streaming platforms have been a beneficiary too, with a 12 per cent increase in the time spent per user per week.
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