India will have over 907 million internet users by 2023, accounting for 64 per cent of the country’s population, a Cisco report said on Tuesday.

Over half a billion people already use the internet in India.

In India, there will be 966 million total mobile users by 2023, up from 763 million or 56 per cent of the population in 2018, according to the “Cisco Annual Internet Report 2018-2023”.

While smartphones will account for 38 per cent (781 million) of all networked devices by 2023, connected TVs will account for 12 per cent (255.8 million) of all networked devices, as per the projections.

There will be 2.1 billion networked devices in the country by 2023, it added.

“As digital literacy, mobile penetration, and internet connectivity grow deeper into the hinterland, a massive shift will be created in Internet usage and consumption patterns across the country,” Anand Bhaskar, managing director, Service Providers Sales, Cisco India and Saarc, said in a statement.

“This rise in connectivity and changing consumption patterns will challenge service providers’ ability to service their customers in an optimal manner. Flatter and more secure networks leveraging cloud and edge computing, as well as automation to manage the ever-expanding network, is essential for them to keep pace in the digital world,” Bhaskar added.

The report added that there will be 67.2 million total 5G connections in India by 2023, meaning one in 20 connections will be 5G by that time in the country, while 4G connections will be 53.1 per cent of total mobile connections by 2023, and 3G and below connections will be 38.7 per cent of total mobile connections.

A growing number of machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, such as smart meters, video surveillance, healthcare monitoring, transportation, and package or asset tracking, are contributing in a major way to the growth of devices and connections in the country.

By 2023, M2M connections will be 25 per cent of the total devices and connections, said the report.

Social networking, video streaming and downloads, business productivity, e-commerce, and gaming will drive the continued growth of mobile applications, with nearly 46.2 billion downloaded by 2023.

As per the projections, there will be 1.4 billion mobile connected devices in India by 2023, 697.4 million wired/Wi-Fi connected devices.

The report added that 66 per cent of the global population (5.3 billion people) will be internet users by 2023.