Why Home PC penetration is just 26% in India & what to do about it
IAMAI has released this report in association with IMRB which says that 37% per cent of all Internet Access from Cyber Cafés:
In fact, access from cyber cafes recorded an increase of 1% over last year. However, it was far below the peak of 52% in 2003. Commenting on the findings of the survey, IAMAI president Dr Subho Ray mentioned, “This is an area where government and other stakeholders keep running in the opposite direction to the users. Since 2000 cyber cafes have been the most important source of internet cafes, but there have been no recognition and absolutely no encouragement of this access point”. “It is time that the important of shared access through cyber cafes is recognized by the stakeholders” he added.
I-Cube survey also reveled that for the first time access through office had overtaken access from homes. In fact access from home declined to 26% compared to 30% last year. Another positive aspect revealed by the survey was that access from schools had increased this year following a secular trend in increase since 2003.
Few days back I had posted “Indian Mobile Penetration Vs PC Penetration: The comparison & reasons”. The reason very much remain the same plus some more thoughts added here.
- No real need
- No Neighbors envy, owners pride value
- No privacy, it’s a shared family device. Not like personal mobile phone
- Confusing product choices
- Broadband availability is pathetic – more in cities actually
- Competition with other Media – Newspaper, Magazines, TV, FM – why the hell you need net for
- Cheap voice communication – Just pick up the damn phone and call – no need to poke on facebook.
- Parent’s perception – If I buy my child a comp – he will play games all day or download those dirty MMS.
What should be done to increase the PC penetration in India:
- Communication – don’t talk about PC in terms of RAMs, HDDs and Processors. The touchy feely Indians don’t get that. Attach emotions, family, need and culture with PC.
- Mobile operators – you all have entered into broadband markets. Is it embarassing for you ? Why are you not talking about it and/or why are you not bundling or cross marketing your products.
- Broadband operators – Please share the last mile infrastructure. Be it DSL, Fibre to the building or Wi-Fi. For a huge last mile rollout and access you need to share. There should be no housing complex in the Metros, where your call centre should reply “Sir, we need to check if there’s availability there”. The scenario of single operator owning the building is anyways not possible, then why think of it. Someone please take the first step.
- Biggies in PC Markets – Indian Languages / Product / Content and PC penetration is a chicken and egg story. Bundle Tally for office PCs, Encylopaedias on home PCs, DVDs on entertainment PCs. Don’t think offers and discounts think Value. It will also support the Indian software makers.
- Government – Please don’t bring Government into this. Have a look at the others memes in India retail, real-estate, fashion, automobile, mobile, ites/bpo, television and other stuff. If they didn’t require Government to pitch in, then PC too doesn’t need any.
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My name is Santosh Maharshi, an ex-bollywood child artiste & now an Internet & Media professional from last 12 years. I have worked with
Santosh: You left out a very critical aspect from your analysis. What is my benefit if I buy a PC if I am a villager or sitting in a small town or city? What is it that I as a user am looking for from the PC and internet? Do I have tools that would help me in my work / business? Does the net provide me with information I need? Contrary to this, a cell phone is a crucial instrument in two-way communication for all users, irrespective of where he is. So, a villager will use it to speak to his son, client, customer and a city person will use it to browse, listen to songs, watch movies etc. So, what I feel is that unless there is convergence between content and technology from a user’s perspective, the PC penetration will be low across the country. As you have observed yourself, educational users have grown because there is good content available on the net for their use. But, what about a farmer or a milkman or even a govt. official in Delhi? He would hardly be using a PC or the net once a week or even less. So, how can you convince him to block 20K for something he has so little use for?