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Mobile Phone Users in India and their Mobile Usage Behavior and Preferences
Study Overview
Most recent survey-based estimates of ‘active’ mobile phone subscribers and
subscriptions across telecom circles in India
Estimates based on a very large land survey of over 259,341 individuals spread across all the mainland states & union
territories (covering all the 23 telecom circles) of the country. Survey conducted in Apr–May 2010 among 37,024
households in 100 cities and 20,396 households in 1,040 villages. Estimates cover both ‘multiple SIM’ mobile users as well
as those accessing ‘internet’ on their mobile phones
Most ‘comprehensive’ profiling of both urban and rural Indian mobile users – in
their demographics, psychographics and key mobile usage dynamics*
A deeper profiling of the Indian mobile users, their consumption lifestyle and their mobile usage - including details about
their location, socio-economic status, household and financial assets ownerships, psychographic profile, day-to-day
lifestyle habits & preferences, leisure, holiday and entertainment preferences, personal consumption and brand
preferences, media usage and their mobile handset and service usage patterns and preferences
* Demographic profiling and individual level SIM and handset ownership findings are based on ‘all mobile using individuals’ living in the surveyed households (259,341).
Mobile usage details, psychographics and consumption lifestyle profiling is based on only the ‘mobile using respondent member’ of these households (57,420).
Methodology Overview
A large-scale land survey was conducted to profile and estimate the Indian mobile users. The
survey covered ‘towns’ and ‘villages’ of all population strata in all the mainland states and
union territories in India (covering all the key, and 69 of the total 77 regions in India as classified
by NSSO) – all 23 telecom circles were covered extensively
Though the selection of towns and villages was ‘purposive’, the sampling within the towns was
done on ‘2-stage random’ basis (firstly a random selection of polling booths, and then a random selection of
households from the electoral list within each of these randomly selected polling booths); within villages sampling
was done on ‘systematic random’ basis (selection of every nth house in the village)
To estimate the mobile user-ship correctly and to make the findings representative of all mobile
users in India (and not just of those surveyed), telecom circle-wise, urban district/village class
and SEC combination level ‘representation weights’ as derived from authentic ‘Govt. of India’
base-level population statistics (NSSO/Census) were applied to the survey data
* For a detailed understanding of the methodology of the study, please refer to the ‘Methodology’ section of the dataset
Methodology Addendum
In 2009, we had taken a ‘land survey-cum-online survey’ combination methodology. We had used the ‘land (face-to-face) survey’ data
for size estimation and basic demographic profiling of all the mobile users in India (urban as well as rural), but used the data from an
‘online survey’ for in-depth profiling of psychographics and mobile usage behavior of only ‘urban’ mobile phone users in India
In 2010, we decided to profile and capture mobile usage behavior of all mobile users, including the ‘rural’ mobile users. To be able to
do so, and to ensure ‘consistency’ in our reported data of urban and rural mobile users, we decided to conduct only a ‘land survey’ this
year and collected all the required information within this land survey itself – size estimation, demographic, psychographic and personal
consumption lifestyle profiling of mobile users, as well as reporting of their mobile usage behavior and preferences. The decision to do
only a ‘land’ survey this year was also prompted by an inadvertent ‘upper income’ skew we found in our online survey based data on
the mobile usage behavior of urban Indians
Due to this ‘revision’ in survey methodology we are unable to ‘compare’ and ‘trend’ this year’s reported data with that of the last
year’s one. It was a difficult trade-off, but eventually we decided to go for a more ‘comprehensive’ and ‘consistent’ coverage and
profiling of both urban and rural mobile users this year and decided to sacrifice the possibility of ‘comparing’ and ‘trending’ the
changes over last year. We do propose to start reporting the ‘changes’ and ‘trends’ from the next year
We believe that as a result of the enhancements and refinements made in this year’s survey methodology, we have got a highly robust
estimation of the ‘active’ mobile user-ship in India and an even better representation of various types of mobile users both in urban as
well as rural India, more so compared to our own India Mobile study last year
* For a detailed understanding of the methodology of the study, please refer to the ‘Methodology’ section of the dataset
Comparability with TRAI Data
There is limited comparability between Juxt India Mobile Study data and Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, and for the following reasons:
Juxt data is based on ‘primary’ consumer survey while TRAI data is ‘secondary’ in source
While Juxt survey measures and reports both the mobile users (subscribers) and mobile connections (subscriptions),
TRAI data reports only the mobile connections (which it mistakenly calls ‘subscribers’). In Juxt data there is a
direct linkage between ‘number of active subscribers’, ‘number of active subscriptions’ and ‘number of active SIMs
per subscriber’. Unless the same linkages are available as clearly and as comprehensively in TRAI data, a direct
comparison is neither advisable nor appropriate
Juxt measures only those mobile connections (SIMs) which are ‘actively’ in use at the time of the survey, not
counting the ‘passive’ SIMs that may still be lying with subscribers ‘un-surrendered’ but not being used actively.
TRAI reports all ‘un-surrendered’ mobile connections (SIMs) in circulation as reported by the mobile operators,
which may be ‘actively’ in use or lying ‘passive’ (in use sporadically, rarely or not in use at all)
* For a detailed understanding of the methodology of the study, please refer to the ‘Methodology’ section of the dataset
Comparability with TRAI Data
In Juxt data the urban-rural split of subscribers and subscriptions is reported form a ‘physical’ location of
households at the ‘town’ and ‘village’ level, and the list of towns and villages are taken from ‘Census’ listing.
There is little clarity on how the urban-rural split is recorded and reported by operators (and TRAI) and whether all
SIMs in use in rural areas are recorded as ‘rural’ (as many such connections may actually be getting ‘bought’ in the
urban areas). Further, according to new reports most operators are yet to ‘authenticate’ the true identity and
location of a good chunk of their subscriber base
A more pragmatic way of looking at the two data would be to use them in
conjunction but separately
Take TRAI numbers as representing the ‘overall universe’ of all mobile connections floating currently in India and
take Juxt numbers as representing only those connections within that universe that are ‘actively’ in use
The advantage of taking such an approach would be to take the more ‘authentic’ secondary data on overall
connections and their actual usage details as reported in TRAI data and then layer it with the more ‘comprehensive’
active-subscription linked ‘subscriber’ level data from Juxt to profile these users in their demographics,
psychographics, consumption lifestyle and their mobile usage behavior and preferences
* For a detailed understanding of the methodology of the study, please refer to the ‘Methodology’ section of the dataset
Excerpts
from the Executive Summary
The Big Picture
If the story of internet usage in India revolves around ‘lack’ of growth and spread, the story of mobile usage in
India on the contrary revolves around ‘surfeit’ of growth and spread. If all mobile subscription numbers have
crossed 600 million mark as per TRAI’s latest figures, and if there are only around 355 million mobile
connections being ‘actively’ used in the country, then there are a good 40% of all mobile connections which
are not getting captured as ‘actively’ in use. Even if one were to give and take a few million connections from
the two figures, the question of at least ‘1 in 3’ mobile connection not in active use stares us point blank
The huge gap between ‘penetration levels’ of mobile phones at household and individual levels is a result of
the fact that almost 2/3rd of mobile using households are still ‘single mobile user’ households. There is still a
large ‘play area’ available to increase the user base and ‘penetration’ of mobile phones than to play mainly
the game of ‘multiple connections’ and increasing mainly the ‘tele-density’. For this to happen, the spotlight
must shift and focus on the ‘user’, and not on the ‘connection’
The Big Picture
Even in the urban areas, ‘housewives’ and ‘students’ form the ‘second’ and ‘third’ biggest chunk of mobile
users (both segments counting for more mobile users than all the corporate employees, self-employed professionals and business owners put
together). With over half of all mobile users coming from `6,250-40,000 MHI groups, the ‘critical mass’ of Indian
mobile usage revolves around the ‘middle’ and ‘lower middle’ income groups
The ‘typical’ caricature of the Indian mobile users (if there is one at all) is largely of someone who has had
education only up to school and has been educated either completely or for a large part in ‘vernacular’
languages (as only 1 in 25 urban and 1 in 100 rural mobile users have had their complete education in ‘English’)
Mobile users perceive, and also use, their mobile handset as much as an ‘entertainment device’ as a
‘communication device’. Accordingly, ‘games’, ‘music’ and ‘camera’ are the most present features on their
‘most used’ handsets. Most interestingly, their mobile handsets have also become the main device for
listening to ‘music on the go’ for most of them
Topline Findings
Active Subscribers and Subscriptions*
There are 304 million mobile subscribers in India, using 355 million connections ‘actively’
Avg mobile users per household is 2.05 and avg ‘active’ mobile connections per user is 1.17
Household level penetration of mobile phones is 61% , individual level penetration is 26%.
Tele-density at all India level stands at 31%, with urban tele-density way ahead at 54%
Rural India accounts for almost as many ‘active’ mobile subscribers and subscriptions as
urban India – rural users show the same propensity to take up ‘multiple SIMs’ as urban users, but lower propensity
to have ‘multiple mobile users’ in the household
2 out of 3 mobile using households are still ‘single mobile user households’
4 out of 5 mobile users are ‘single active mobile connection users’. The user base of active
‘multiple mobile connection users’ is around 59 million
* As of June 2010
The Geographics
‘Mumbai’ circle tops among urban areas with 10.4% urban mobile subscribers, Bihar tops
among the rural areas with 11.8% rural mobile subscribers
‘B’ circles account for the largest chunk of mobile subscribers as well as subscriptions, more
so in the rural areas
Active use of ‘multiple SIMs’ is most prominent in ‘A’ circles (and has a ‘mass’ base rather than an
‘elite’ one)
Gujarat users, apart from MP, Maharashtra and Karnataka ones, show higher propensity to
‘use’ active multiple SIMs
3/4th of all rural mobile subscribers stay ‘within 10 kms ‘distance from the nearest town –
indicating a fairly concentrated penetration of mobile users in the rural areas
Mobile Service Usage
On an average Indian mobile users claim to talk 23 minutes daily. Rural users are only
marginally ‘lighter’ talkers
They claim to spend on an ‘average’ `240 monthly on their most used connection. Rural users
claim to spend about 20% less than the urban users
‘Outgoing STD’, ‘call waiting’ and ‘domestic roaming’ are the most subscribed services by both
urban and rural users
2/3rd mobile users claim they ‘will not switch’ operators even if the number becomes ‘portable’
Only 1 in 25 mobile users (11.6 million) surf internet on their mobile phones currently. 9 out of 10
of them are ‘dual device users’ (accessing internet on both mobile and PC)
Mobile Service Brands
Airtel is the biggest operator overall with 27.7% share of all ‘active’ subscribers base, and 28.0%
share of all ‘active’ subscriptions. Vodafone follows next, with Reliance being a close 3 rd
Airtel also has the highest ‘subscription-subscriber ratio’ and shows the highest ‘propensity’ to
be a user’s next ‘active’ multiple mobile connection. BSNL follows thereafter
Among only GSM players Airtel stays at the top with 34.4% and 34.8% share respectively
Among only CDMA players Reliance Comm tops with 55.9% and 56.0% share respectively. It is
followed by Tata Teleservices and Tata DoCoMo
On ‘most used’ connection basis, Airtel tops. Reliance comes up as the joint 2nd with Vodafone.
Operators who’s share fall somewhat at ‘most used’ connection level are Idea, Uninor and Spice
Service Provider– ‘Active’ Multiple Connections
Overall (%)
Mobile Service Active Mobile Active Mobile Mobile Service Active Mobile Active Mobile
Subscribers Subscriptions Subscribers Subscriptions
Providers (%) (%) Providers (%) (%)
Airtel 27.7%
1.06
28.0% Sistema Shyam 0.4% 0.4%
‘Single’ active mobile handset users predominate in both urban and rural areas at 85%
Half of all mobile handsets ‘in use’ are claimed to have been bought in `1,500 – 3,000 price range
Compared to rural users, urban users show a lower relative incidence of buying a handset below
`1,500 and a higher relative incidence of buying one costing over `3,000
Mobile handsets are as much ‘entertainment device’ as ‘communication device’ for most mobile
users. Mobile handsets have also become the main device for listening to ‘music on the go’ for most of them, but a device
for ‘going online’ for only a very few of them as yet
Mobile Handset Brands
Almost 2/3rd of all ‘active’ handsets are Nokia (on both ‘multiple usage’ basis as well as ‘most used’ basis).
LG follows as a distant second at 10%
Samsung, Sony Ericsson and Micromax make up the rest of the top 5 list
Nokia appears to be used more in ‘urban’ areas than in rural areas, while Samsung, Micromax
and Spice appear to be used relatively more in the rural areas than in the urban areas
Maxx Mobile shows the highest ‘propensity’ to be a mobile user’s next ‘multiple handset’.
Among bigger players, Samsung shows the highest propensity, followed by LG and then Nokia
Handset Brands – Multiple Handsets
‘Housewives’ form the second biggest occupational group of mobile users in the urban areas
(more than all the corporate/self employees/business owners put together). Interestingly, usage among ‘children’ in
urban areas is almost as high as among ‘teenagers’
2/3rd of all mobile users are educated only up to school. And 2/3rd are educated completely in
‘vernacular’ languages (only 4% urban and 1% rural mobile users have had their complete education in ‘English’)
For all India, SEC ‘R2’ forms the biggest chunk of active mobile users, followed by SEC ‘C’ and
‘B’ (makes mobile phones a truly ‘middle’ class product in India)
The ‘critical mass’ of Indian mobile usage revolves around the ‘middle’ and ‘lower middle’
income groups (58% of all mobile users come from the `6,250-40,000 MHI groups)
Psychographic Profile
‘Money’ is the biggest motivation driving lives of 3 out of 4 mobile users, whether urban or rural
Yet only a few of them see ‘money’ as a status symbol (probably money is more of a ‘necessity’ for living a
good modern day lifestyle for most of them rather than a ‘social status enhancer’)
Interestingly, 5 out of the top 10 ‘most identified celebrities’ among mobile users are politicians
‘Watching TV’ is their biggest indoor entertainment, followed by watching ‘movie CDs’. ‘Chatting
on phone’ is only a marginal indoor activity
Among popular outdoor activities, ‘watching movies in cinema hall’ is relatively more popular in
urban areas, and ‘visiting neighbors’ in the rural areas
Consumption & Media Orientation
Most of them are ‘need driven’ up-graders at their core (only 1 in 5 are ‘lifestyle up-graders’ by inclination)
4 out of 5 mobile users are essentially ‘budget’ buyers. However, while 2 out of 3 give high
importance to ‘price’, almost a similar number also gives high importance to ‘brand image’
Over half of them have ‘never responded’ to any ‘response triggering’ marketing stimulus (seems
they do not make a very good ‘direct marketing audience’ per se)
Only a minuscule 5% ‘urban’ mobile users drive a car, only a little over 1% have a credit card
individually, and only 1 in 12 takes holidays/vacations (essentially domestic holidays/vacations)
Mobile users watch ‘TV’ the most among all media, though half of them also read ‘newspapers’.
However, the mobile users who use ‘internet’ use it the most ‘heavily’ of all mediums
Report Details
Reporting
• The India Mobile 2010 study findings are available as query-based online
datasets with findings presented as tables/graphs/charts
– India Mobile Service - with findings presented on the base of ‘all mobile service users’ and data
displayed by telecom circle types (Metro, A, B and C)
– India Mobile Handset - with findings presented on the base of ‘all mobile handset owners’ and data
displayed by city types (Metros, Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4)
Note: Reporting by any telecom circle or brand in the supplement dataset is subject to collection of sufficient sample responses in the survey
Pricing – Mobile Service Datasets*
Overall Mobile User Supplementary Level
Level Dataset Datasets
Single Datasets
Combo Datasets
Up to 5 telecom circle-wise
+ datasets Rs. 500,000
* Key Findings PowerPoint Report for any dataset (only on order) – Rs. 50,000 per dataset
Single Datasets
Combo Datasets
Up to 5 telecom circle-wise
+ datasets Rs. 500,000
* Key Findings PowerPoint Report for any dataset (only on order) – Rs. 50,000 per dataset
• Delivery Timeline : Overall Level Datasets (India Mobile Service / India Mobile Handset)
: PowerPoint Report
• Total mobile phone using households, No. of mobile phones users per household, Total no. of connections (SIMs) and handsets in the
household
• Total mobile phone using individuals, No. of mobile phones per individual (SIMs, Handsets), Cumulative base of active mobile phone
subscriptions (SIMs) and handsets, SIMs and handsets bought in last 6 months, SIMs and handsets likely to buy in next 6 months
• Handset Usage: No. of active handsets, Handset brand and model, Handset price
Handset for most used SIM, Handset brand and model of most used SIM, Features present on this most used handset
Whether listens to music on a mobile device
India Mobile 2010
(Information Coverage)
• Email : sanjay@juxtconsult.com
• Website : www.juxtconsult.com
Thank You!