Mumbai tops Internet users' list with 5.84 million users

Kolkata, Nov 26 (UNI) Kolkata is ahead of Bangalore and Hyderabad, if not in IT but in terms of total number of internet users, according to Internet in India (I-Cube), a study jointly undertaken by the Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB International.

The study reveals that Kolkata, with a total of 2.39 million internet users,(of whom 1.34 million are ever users and 1.05 million active users) is ahead of tech cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The users who use internet every day have been referred in the study as 'ever' users and those who use the net at least once in thirty days are called 'active' users.

Bangalore has a total of 2.28 million net users (1.31 ever and 0.97 million active) while Hyderabad 2.24 million (1.29 and 0.95 million).

Mumbai, with 5.84 million net users, leads the pack of top eight internet using metros, The study revealed that Mumbai has 3.24 million ever users and 2.6 million active users (who use internet once in 30 days). Delhi is second with a total of 4.46 million users (2.66 and 1.80 million ever and active users respectively while Kolkata stands third with 2.39 million (1.34 million ever and 1.05 million active users).

The study says the trend in Internet usage in India is very interesting and demonstrates the evolution of Internet as a media.

Traditional favourites 'e-mail' and 'chat' continue to be dominant across the top 8 metros, especially in Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad except in Mumbai, where information search dominates. Proportion of users accessing internet, mainly for jobs and matrimony and e-commerce, is highest in Kolkata, followed by Ahmedabad and Pune.

Proportion of internet users accessing internet mainly for financial or business information is significant in Mumbai and Pune.

This may be associated with Mumbai being the nerve centre of the commercial and business activities in India. This justifies the higher proportion of office access from Mumbai.

The study also found that the difference between everyday user and active users was very little in Pune with 90 per cent conversion rate and highest in Delhi with a poor 67 per cent conversion rate.

Ahmedabad has the lowest number of users among the top 8 metros, the study mentioned.

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