The Net in India: a luxury few can afford

[Ahmed Omair <ao@akunet.org>]

eMarketer: The Net in India: a luxury few can afford

Jan 08 2001: With a high poverty level and unequal income
distribution, web access in India is limited to the privileged few
that can afford it. 

Internet use in India currently stands at 0.4 percent of the adult
population, or 1.8 million people. Although the online population is
expected to grow, 
the highly unequal distribution of income in India means that only a
small proportion of the population can be considered potential
Internet users. 

However, these potential web users are well-educated, cosmopolitan,
and early adopters of new technology and electronic devices. 

As is the case in other developing nations, the majority of India's
existing Internet users are young, well-educated males. Almost half
(49 percent) are 
in the 18 to 24 age group, while 77 percent are male. 

One obstacle facing the growth of India's online population is the
country's poor telecoms infrastructure. At 2.2 lines per 100 citizens,
telephone penetration in India is extremely low. 

Many of the lines that do exist are not of a high enough quality to
support adequate Internet connection speeds. In addition, the national
telecom provider, VSNL, holds a near monopoly in India's telecoms
market, hindering development by 
private ISPs. 

[SOURCE: http://www.nua.ie/surveys]