Only 6 percent Indian mobile subscribers are over 50 years of age: Telenor survey

Though India has over 96 crore mobile subscribers, only 6 percent of them are over 50 years of age, indicating that senior citizens are not fully receiving the benefits of mobile Internet, says a survey.

“Of the total mobile phone users in India, only 6 percent are over 50 years of age. This difference is exacerbated for mobile data users, with only 1 percent being 50 years or older,” according to a survey by Norway-based telecom major Telenor.

As per the findings, the senior segment in some of these markets represents as little as 2 percent of active mobile users, with still fewer using smartphones.

Telenor Group has released data from four of its Asian markets – India, Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

“Given our vision of Internet for All, it is a source of concern for Telenor that senior citizens in our Asian markets are not fully receiving the benefits of the mobile Internet,” Telenor Group Executive Vice President and Head of Asia operations Sigve Brekke said.

Telenor said as per the data, it is evident that elderly populations throughout Asian markets are less engaged with the Internet, particularly via mobile.

“A demographic breakdown shows that only 10 percent of Telenor’s 45.6 million subscribers in India are over 45 years of age,” it said.

The survey also found that the top reasons consumers cited for not using mobile data are related to perceived utility and complexity of the services.

Of this demographic pattern, 29 percent said they have no reason to use the mobile Internet and 24 percent reported that using the mobile Internet is “too complicated”.