Indian data usage balloons on 5G smartphone sales surge
5G phones now dominate India’s smartphone market and are pushing data consumption to new highs. According to industry estimates, 5G devices made up about 90% of all smartphone shipments in 2025, up from 85% a year earlier. The sharpest growth came at the low end of the market: shipments of 5G phones priced under ₹10,000 jumped about 1900% year-on-year as operators widened their 5G networks.
Cheaper 5G handsets and broader coverage are pulling millions of new users onto faster mobile networks, which is driving heavier use of video, gaming, and other data-heavy apps. This shift is reshaping how Indians access the internet, with mobile networks carrying a rising share of the country’s digital traffic.
More from Telecom
Pakistani mobile operator Jazz has switched on 5G services after receiving a 5G licence from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The launc...
India added 7.86 million telecom subscribers in January, lifting the total base to 1.314 billion, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Author...
Telefónica is reworking its network strategy to squeeze more revenue out of data traffic and AI-era services. Speaking at OFC, the company’s CTO outli...
Globe Telecom is extending its LTE and 5G networks across the Philippine province of Tarlac to keep up with growing demand for faster, more reliable m...
Satellite services provider Globalsat Group has signed a reseller agreement with Amazon’s planned low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, Project Kui...
BT says it has finished taking Huawei equipment out of its 5G radio access network and is now relying on Ericsson and Nokia. According to BT CTO Greg...