Made in Humane Club
Key highlights
- Twice as many rural households lack internet access—16.7 percent compared to 8.4 percent in urban areas
- Despite near-universal mobile internet access, only 3.8 percent of rural households have access to high-speed fiber connections, compared to 15.3 percent in urban areas
- The most commonly reported barrier to internet adoption is low digital readiness—1 in 2 rural and 2 in 5 urban households without internet either don’t know how to use it or aren’t aware of it at all.
In an increasingly digital India, access to mobile phones and the internet is no longer a luxury—it’s a lifeline to opportunity, services, and empowerment. Recognizing the growing importance of digital connectivity in everyday life, the Comprehensive Modular Survey on Telecom (CMS-T) offers valuable insights into how Indian households engage with digital technologies. Conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the CMS-T forms part of the 80th Round of the National Sample Survey (NSS) and was conducted between January and March 2025—making this one of the most up-to-date national datasets on digital access.
This article dives into household digital life and how they differ across rural and urban India. It starts with the most fundamental question: who has internet access at home—and what kind of connection powers that access? And for those still offline, the data reveals something just as critical: why. Together, these threads help trace not just the reach of the internet—but the reality of digital participation, and how unevenly it is unfolding between rural and urban households.
Connected Cities, Disconnected Villages
India’s internet landscape underscores a clear urban–rural divide. As illustrated in Figure 1, 91.6 percent of urban households report having internet access, the figure drops to 83.3 percent in rural areas. That leaves 1 in 6 rural homes (16.7 percent) disconnected — twice the share of urban households, where only 1 in 12 (8.4 percent) remain offline.
Fast internet is still an urban privilege
What does it really mean for an Indian household to be “online”? The answer lies not just in access, but how that access is delivered—shaping everything from cost and reliability to digital inclusion. Internet access within homes typically falls into three types: optical fiber, fixed/Wi-Fi network, and mobile internet—each reflecting varying levels of speed, stability, and access.
Optical fiber provides the fastest and most reliable internet connection by transmitting data as light signals through thin strands of glass or plastic. These cables are typically laid underground, minimizing interference and ensuring high-speed, stable connectivity. While ideal for high-bandwidth needs like remote work and online learning, optical fiber is costly to install due to expensive materials, labor, and regulatory hurdles. High right-of-way charges and low rural population density further slow its rollout, limiting coverage mostly to urban areas. Fixed Wi-Fi builds on this fiber backbone, offering shared connectivity within homes, but also requires a setup cost and ongoing subscription. Mobile internet, accessed via smartphones or dongles, is the most affordable option-though it often comes with slower speeds, data limits, and inconsistent connectivity.
Figure 2 shows India’s household internet access reveals a stark digital divide in high-speed infrastructure. Only 3.8 percent of rural households have access to the internet via optical fiber connections, compared to 15.3 percent of urban households—making urban homes four times more likely to benefit from fiber-based broadband. Fixed/WiFi connectivity shows a similar gap; urban access stands at 24 percent, nearly 2.6 times higher than rural (9.1 percent) households. Conversely, mobile internet nearly blankets both rural (98.8 percent) and urban (98.9 percent) households. These patterns underscore that while mobile internet drives near-universal connectivity, the critical infrastructure for fast and reliable broadband remains concentrated in urban areas, perpetuating the digital divide and impacting rural users’ ability to benefit fully from high-speed internet services.
What keeps millions of Indian households from logging on in an increasingly digital world?
Figure 3 reveals that in both rural and urban India, the biggest obstacle to internet use isn’t infrastructure—it’s digital readiness. Among households without internet at home, nearly 1 in 2 rural areas (49 percent) and 2 in 5 urban ones (42.7 percent) report they either don’t know how to use the internet or aren’t even aware of it. This reveals deep-rooted exclusion from the digital ecosystem, where the internet feels unfamiliar rather than inaccessible. Closely following is a lack of perceived need or reliance on alternatives. Over a third of disconnected households, with the share higher in urban India (37.7 percent) than rural (33.8 percent), reported not needing internet at home. Some may access it at work or through someone else’s device; others simply don’t see how going online improves their daily life. This is a stark reminder: access alone doesn’t equal adoption. If digital tools don’t speak to people’s real needs, they’ll remain untouched.
Then there’s cost. Figure 3 shows, for around 1 in 10 rural disconnected households (11 percent) and 1 in 12 urban ones (8.5 percent), the internet is just too expensive—whether it’s the price of smartphones or recurring data costs. Access and infrastructure issues like no electricity or poor connectivity, once considered the major hurdle, are now reported by fewer than 3 percent of both rural and urban households respectively. Finally, as digital access grows, so do concerns around its safety and relevance. Figure 3 shows that urban households (2.8 percent) are over three times more likely than rural ones (0.8 percent) to cite worries about harmful content, privacy, or lack of relevant content—highlighting that cultural comfort, trust, and the perceived safety of online spaces now shape the next frontier of digital inclusion.
India may be wired, but not everyone is plugged into its promise. Beyond the cables and towers lies a deeper divide: the gap of awareness, trust, and readiness to embrace this digital world. True progress demands more than infrastructure—it calls for nurturing skills, sparking curiosity, and building confidence across every doorstep. Only when the internet truly matters inside every home can India’s vast digital landscape transform into a shared space of opportunity, where connection sparks empowerment for all.
To cite this analysis: Sneha Thomas (2025), “One Nation, Many Disconnects: Mapping India’s Home Internet Gaps” Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA), Ashoka University. Published on ceda.ashoka.edu.in
If you wish to republish this article or use an extract or chart, please read CEDA’s republishing guidelines.
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