Internet turns 30; the next 30 belong to India

On the 1st of January, the World Wide Web turned 30. From its humble beginning at US Department of Defense the internet has played a pivotal role in channelizing the lives of billions across the globe. But while the western world has optimally utilized the benefits of the internet India has lagged behind and this has clearly reflected in terms of internet interception and usage statistics. The country is yet to come to the fore in terms of internet usage. But if researchers and experts are to be believed the next thirty years of the internet are set to belong to India.

A study conducted by industry body Assocham and internet analytics firm Comscore says that India is fastest among BRIC nations adding over 18 million users annually that is almost 41 percent. While the internet has seen considerable changes in the last few years India’s use of the internet has been laggard as compared with China.  According to suggestive figures in 2007, the number of internet users in China was 100 million and five years later it is 500 million. In comparison India’s latest user figure assert that there are only a 125 million internet users in the country. “However the issues of power failure and poor infrastructure can be blamed for the same” said Milan Seth partner and technology industry leader, advisory service Ernst and Young. Many analysts also point out that it if it had not been for the crippling telecom infrastructure the country would have been much higher given the rural demand. 

But Milan Seth feels that with people having more mobile phones the scenario is sure to change. In fact the next phase of internet revolution in the country would be led by sale of devices and also demand in rural areas. TM Srinivasan, MD, India and Saarc, VM- Ware a cloud computing firm feels that the penetration of the internet will surely increase with PC and laptops becoming more and more affordable.