That mobile use in India is on a high growth curve is given, but how ?real? is mobile growth in India? Not very, if one were to consider that despite an overall 61% household-level penetration, only 26% Indians are active users. These figures, thrown up in a survey undertaken by online research firm JuxtConsult in April and May this year, profiling ?mobile phone users in India and their mobile usage behaviour and preferences?, tell the story of a high-stake game. ?Overbuying? by consumers or overselling by the mobile industry has resulted in ?too many connections from too many operators chasing too few customers in too short a time period?. The survey covered over 2.5 lakh people in 100 cities and over 1,000 villages,

Against an exponential growth in mobile subscription numbers every year (TRAI?s latest figures peg mobile users in India at over 600 million, almost 50% more that 400 million in May 2009), the question of at least one in three connections not in active use stares us in the face.

With almost two-third mobile using households still being ?single mobile user? households, there is still a large play area available to increase the user base and penetration of mobile phones than to focus on multiple connections and increasing tele-density. For this to happen, the spotlight must shift on the user and not on the connection.

Interestingly, the study found that more than half of all multiple active connection mobile users come from rural areas. It was also found that the urban-rural split of mobile use at both the subscriber level and the active connection level comes close to 50:50, against TRAI data that indicates a 75:25 split at the overall mobile connections level. Thus, given the mass appeal of mobiles, the study indicates an eventual shift toward the hinterland.

When it comes to mobile handsets, the mass acceptance of mobile phones is reflected in the fact that almost half of all handsets in use are between the price range of Rs 1,500-3,000. Clearly, Indian mobile users are budget buyers and ?need-driven? upgraders at their core. While a mobile is a communication medium, it is also a device for entertainment, particularly music. However, the percentage of Internet users on the mobile is still 4%, despite 16% being Internet users. Even within this 4%, most of them use other means of accessing the Internet as well and only one in 25 mobile users surf the Internet on the mobile.