The IAMAI-IMRB I-Cube report posits that, of an active user base of 32 million users in 30 cities in India, around 33 percent are Young Men, and 21 percent are College Students. In all, around 39 percent belong to the SEC A category, and 33 percent to the SEC B category. All in all, the percentage of users from SEC C towns has been gradually growing...but more than the numbers, I found the qualitative data more interesting: what do people use the Internet for? In order: E-mail, Information, Entertainment, Chat and E-commerce. While there are numbers in the report, I think the flip-flop in the figures is probably indicative of a variation in the user sample. Wish there was more qualitative information in the report - and examples of Internet usage.

Entertainment content has increased dramatically over the past year, particularly with the launch of gaming sites like Zapak, and pervasiveness of video content via YouTube, Rajshri Media and others. Among college going students and school going kids - the time spent on seeking information and entertainment is maximum. The worrying factor is that only around 25 percent of the sample accesses the Internet daily, down from 28 percent a year ago...that seems unlikely, and probably due to to the sampling again, or just that the new users added to the mix aren’t using the Internet daily; not a good sign.

Download the report here.

• I-Cube Report: India’s Active Internet User Base At 32 Million
• I-Cube Report: More Users From Smaller Towns Are Accessing The Internet