Indians consuming 27.5 GB average monthly data, FWA using 12x more data than mobile users

Average monthly data usage per user in India reached 27.5 GB (including 4G and 5G) in 2024, growing at a 19.5% CAGR over five years, and it is expected to touch 50 GB average by 2030, said Nokia in its 12th edition on Mobile Broadband Index (MbiT) report spanned between January to December 2024.

The report estimates total mobile subscribers in India to be over 1 billion and about 900 million are data subscriber which is 4G plus 5G out of which 613 million are 4G users while 219 are on 5G. By 2028, there would be 770 million 5G data subscribers, with around 120 million new 5G subscribers addition every year.

The 5G users however were consuming 40 GB average data per month and 25% of this is coming fixed wireless access (FWA), it added. Pan India, 5G traffic growth average is 21.5 exabyte per month.

The report said that active 5G devices doubled year-on-year to reach over 271 million in 2024. It further says that nearly 90% smartphones replacements in 2025 will be 5G-capable.

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Nokia MbiT report noted a threefold year-on-year surge in 5G data traffic across India in 2024. According to the report, Category B and C circles led the growth, with 5G data consumption increasing by 3.4 times and 3.2 times, respectively.

The expansion of 5G networks in these circles has been a key enabler of this growth. In metro circles, 5G data usage accounted for 43% of total mobile broadband data, up from 20% in 2023, while 4G data growth is declining.

The report further revealed a continued rise of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is driving increased data usage, with FWA users now consuming over 12 times more data than the average mobile data user.

Overall 5G data traffic is expected to surpass 4G data traffic by the first quarter of 2026. “Furthermore, the evolution toward 5G Advanced is expected to further enhance business potential, enabling service differentiation, new revenue streams, and cost reductions through intelligent operations.”

The capabilities of 5G Advanced will serve as a foundation for the transition to 6G, for apps such as distributed computing services, AI-driven intelligence, and spatial and temporal sensing for enhanced connectivity and localisation.