Mumbai: Growing from its roots as a medium of communication, the Internet today is a pertinent tool for learning, knowledge sharing and a means of expression.
Given its ever-increasing importance, the Indian Government had declared the year 2007, as the ''Broadband Year''.

To better understand the Net's penetration in India,  Indian Market Research Bureau International (IMRB) and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have come up with a report based on primary data that spans 30 cities, and 65,000 individuals.

Key highlights of the report are as under:

• India's PC literacy has grown steadily since 2004, which could be attributed to increasing levels of computer literacy, awareness and word-of-mouth publicity. First time users have increased by 40 per cent, and what is heartening is that Internet usage has permeated even the non-metros. The makes the need of the hour sustained growth.
• English is the primary language of the Internet. Familiarity with English acts as a major factor driving Internet usage. India's multi-lingual diversity provides abundant opportunities to open up the Internet to large section of non-English speaking Indians.
• Youth is a key driver for the growing Internet base in India, with openness and adaptability to change being key factors. School kids comprise 14 per cent of Internet users, adopting a host of initiatives taken by various Internet application providers.
• The office is now the major access points for the Internet this year, having surpassed the popularity of cyber cafés that were prominent last year.
• Growth of PC ownership and that of Internet connections complement each other. Falling PC prices and increased multimedia features have shown a 48 per cent rise in PC ownership across India. Internet ownership has grown by 32 per cent over last year.
• Though Internet usage has increased, there still exist large untapped markets. According to the report, the key would be to convert non-Internet users into using the Internet, by increasing awareness of access points.
  

Read the summary report, see I-Cube 2007 Summary Report.