Updated 17/10. LIVE FROM 5G ASIA, SINGAPORE: Gulzar Azad, head of connectivity for Google India (pictured), said the progress made in connectivity and smartphone penetration is “nothing short of a revolution,” but noted there is still work to be done to bridge the digital divide in the country.

In a presentation, Azad noted that just two years ago only 10 per cent of India’s population had true broadband and smartphone adoption was very low, but the country “has progressed a lot in the last 12 months”.

He cited the rapid growth in subscriber numbers racked up by Reliance Jio, which signed up more than 100 million subscribers within five months of its launch in September 2016, as an example of the country’s rise, adding no one in 2016 could have predicted India would become one of the largest data consumers in the world.

GSMA Intelligence figures show India had 152 million 4G subscribers at end-June compared with 8 million in Q2 2016. Meanwhile, smartphone adoption increased by nearly 90 million to 355 million over the period.

Bridging the gap
Azad said the digital divide is narrowing as smartphone adoption increases, but the ability to access the entire internet the way it was designed is actually declining in many areas.

“That’s a unique thing happening right now. Not only how do we bridge the digital divide, but how do we bridge the experience and knowledge gap?”

He said the interest is not just about accessing social networks: “The internet is about transforming people’s lives in terms of knowledge, healthcare, education and prosperity.”

One way Google is attempting to enable such usage is by focusing on improving access for commuters travelling by train.

Azad said 15,000 new users come online via Google’s Wi-Fi hotspots at 150 train stations in India each day. The company’s Google Station programme, which it launched in 2016, attracts 6.5 million users each month and the company is gearing up to expand coverage to 400 train stations by Q2 2018.

While the current deployments form part of a partnership between Google and Indian Railways’ communication arm RailTel, the search giant is also seeking deals with mobile operators in the country: in June, it held talks with Bharti Airtel regarding a deal which could extend coverage beyond train stations.