India Lead the World in Internet Understanding

 “Connected World II” report by Tata Communications reveals habits, attitudes, understanding and expectations of Indian Internet users

The impact of the Internet on global economies is phenomenal. About 2.5 billion people are connected to the Internet today, that’s a third of the world’s population. By 2020, the number of connected devices is expected to rise to 26 billion. With so many users checking in online each day, it may come as a surprise that there is still a huge gap in the public’s knowledge and understanding of the Internet.

Tata Communications announced the results of its global report, titled ‘Connected World II,’ which reveals that 82% of surveyed Indians admit to a ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) when not connected to the Internet, the highest percentage globally. Despite the nation’s dependence on all things digital, 60% of Indians surveyed equate the Internet with the World Wide Web; showcasing a gap in the actual understanding of the Internet. The report captures responses from 9,417 internet users across six emerging and developed countries – France, Germany, India (2,117), Singapore, the US, and the UK  – to better understand how users engage and connect with the Internet today.

Only half of all global respondents accurately identify where the Internet resides (in network connected data centers), while 82% do not know that the fastest mode of internet delivery to their devices is through sub-sea cables. The good news is that surveyed Indians have an edge over their global counterparts when it comes to their understanding of the Internet with around 30% stating that sub-sea cables are the fastest way to deliver the Internet, compared to 18% globally. Moreover, 60% of surveyed Indians identify network connected data centers as the correct source of the Internet, compared to 51% globally.

The study also reveals that Asian respondents appear to be the most ‘internet dependent’ with less than half of surveyed Singaporeans and Indians capable of lasting up to 12 hours without internet access compared to 86% of German, 77% of French, 75% of US and 70% of UK respondents.

Respondents from Asia and those from the USA and Europe are distinctly different in their vision of the most inspirational opportunity that the Internet will deliver in the future: 32% of surveyed Singaporeans and 27% of surveyed Indians pick smart cities as their preferred choice for what the Internet will enable in the future. Respondents from the UK, France, Germany and the USA, meanwhile, feel that light speed connectivity will be more important.

Other highlights from India include:

• Focusing on the technical understanding of the Internet, the study reveals that 48% of surveyed Indians have a realistic view of the Internet reaching its full capacity limitations, compared to Germany (26%), UK (30%), US (28%), France (43%) or Singapore (38%) respondents
• Indian respondents understand that a lot of information resides in the ‘cloud’ with 69% aware that the ‘cloud’ resides in data centres
• 61% of Indian respondents believe that ‘everyone owns the Internet’, compared to 70% globally with 21% rightly pointing out that each individual country owns their internet when compared to 16% globally
• This study further discloses that tablets and smartphones are rapidly replacing television as the preferred screen as nearly twice as many surveyed Indians (43%) are willing to give up television for the Internet, compared to Americans (17%) and Europeans (22%) respondents
• In the report, the Internet’s ability to ‘connect people globally with incredible speed’ is cited by more than three quarters of the Indian respondents as its principle benefit to society, as opposed to ‘providing a democratic platform for expression’ (10%), ‘enabling e-commerce’ (4%), ‘making shopping easier (3%)’ or a ‘social equaliser’ (5%)

“The survey results also found that 77% of respondents believe the most beneficial impact of the Internet is its ability to connect people globally with incredible speed” says Woods-Moss. “This belief has been the guiding force of our business strategy in the past, and is the essence on which we have built our networks to support the present and the future. The fact that over 24% of the world’s internet routes use our network affords us a rare advantage and a perspective that helps connect with our customers globally across emerging markets and developed economies.”