India had 412.6 million wireless and wireline broadband connections at the end of March 2018, an increase of 14% over a three month period starting from December 2017, according to data published by telecom regulator TRAI. Note that there were 81.3 million narrowband connections in the country, a number which has been on the decline, possibly as more people switch to broadband from narrowband. Narrowband connections declined from 83.09 million connections in December 2017.
The total: 493.96 million Internet connections, including both wireline and wireless connections, and broadband and narrowband. A majority of these Internet connections are on mobile.
Between January and March 2018, total broadband connections in rural India grew by 14.5%, and by 13% in urban areas. TRAI defines Internet connections with download speeds less than 512 kbps as narrowband, while connections with download speeds faster than 512 kbps are classified as broadband. Broadband connections were the majority in India with an 84% share, while narrowband connections comprised the remaining 16% connections.
It’s worth noting that the TRAI had recommended redefining the minimum broadband speed to 2 Mbps, which is still too less.
Some observations:
1. Delhi had the highest number of broadband connections in urban areas with 26.89 million, followed by Tamil Nadu with 26 million connections, and Maharashtra with 24 million connections.
2. Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai)had the highest number of broadband connections in rural areas with 10.63 million, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 10.3 million connections, and Uttar Pradesh (East) with 9 million connections.
3. Overall, Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai) had the highest number of broadband connections in the country with 34.75 million connections. Tamil Nadu is at the second spot with 33.4 million connections, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 32.1 million connections.
4. Broadband connections in hilly states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the North East including Assam are still very low with a total of just 22.62 million connections between them.
5. Bihar added the highest number of broadband connections in rural areas with 1.61 million connections, between January and March 2018. In urban areas, Tamil Nadu topped the list adding 4.13 million connections during the same time period.
6. Overall, Tamil Nadu added the most connections during the three-month period with 5 million connections.
