With this projection, India is expected to have the third largest mobile user base, behind China and the US, the report said.
Indian mobile owners are becoming younger as a result of cheaper calls, subsidized handsets and widespread availability of prepay lowering the barriers to ownership, the report said.
However, relatively low GDP combined with the popularity of prepay still exerts downward pressure on ARPU in India.
Average revenues stand at under $8 per month in 2006, lower than the global average at $21.30, the report said.
Early indications point to long term growth in the Indian mobile data market, albeit mainly confined to messaging based applications. With SMS pricing falling by up to 50%, traffic has risen sharply. Messaging revenues will pass $1 billion annually in 2007, the report projected.