56% of Smartphone Users in India Have No Data Access at Least Once a Day:Report

Mobile data usage in India has quadrupled in 8 months due to competitive and unlimited data tariff plans being offered by various telecom operators such as Jio, Airtel, Vodafone over the past few months, according to True Balance, India’s leading mobile balance management app. However, despite such data offer, the report states that 56% of smartphone users have been found to be offline, without access to the internet, at least once a day, while 11% stay offline for more than 24 hours.

 The data report, based on the latest data analysis from the True Balance application, says that data connectivity environment is still poor leading to devices being exposed to offline environment on large. Speaking on the results of new data analysis report, Alex Suh, General Director of Data Analysis, True Balance, said, “We have found that across India, the connections are patchy and users often find gaps in network coverage depending on their location. This is why despite the mobile data usage in the country increasing significantly, there is still prevalence of users found experiencing offline state in a day. While the data connectivity issue has improved considerably since last year, there is still scope to address the main issues behind poor connectivity and get these numbers further down.”

 Despite these connectivity hiccups, the report goes on to reveal that though the percentage of mobile devices with 24-hour data usage has been increasing steadily since last year. According to the report, users who use the mobile data online for 24-hours were just 7% in July 2016 and now that number has increased to 44% as of April 2017. Advent of low-priced handsets and tablets compatible to access the Internet has also contributed to significant increase in online mobile data subscribers. Services such as e-mails, social networking, online shopping and use of different search engines are the key drivers of internet consumption in India.

True Balance application supports inquiry and charge of prepaid mobile usage credit. It was introduced back in 2014 and reached 40 million downloads so far, chart topping in India’s utility app category. Focusing on the increasing trend of smartphone users in India, the app has seen an exponential user growth in a short period of time thanks to its user-centered UI, attractive in-app design, and ease of use.