Despite various bans and the general negative consensus around it, there seems to be no stopping people from watching porn. A new report states that porn-viewing in the country has surged as mobile data rates and handset costs have fallen. The drop in data rates enable customers to enjoy their mobile internet experience further by staying online longer and accessing more content. Also Read - Realme TV 55-inch with superior SLED screen launching next month in India: Report

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According to a report by video viewership tracker, Vidooly, viewing of porn soared 75 percent in the second half of last fiscal year. According to the report, people in India preferred streaming of adult content rather than downloading it. There is an increase of 75 percent online video viewership and 60 percent spike in watch time from India within the adult content category, Subrat Kar, co-founder and CEO of Vidooly told ET. “Video streaming was more popular as most of this traffic comes from low-storage mobile devices from tier 2 and tier 3 towns,” he further added.

It is worth noting that prices of 4G smartphones have dropped to as low as Rs 3,000, making high-speed broadband accessible to more consumers on their handsets and providing the backdrop for the next battle among India’s biggest telecom operators. The report also mentions that 80 percent of the content is in short form, and tier 2 and 3 towns contribute to almost 60 percent of the total viewership.

Commenting on aspects other than adult content, Kar added that there is an overall 30-40 percent increase of viewership and watch time in four categories — music, entertainment, regional news, and comedy shows. These content was consumed by people in the age group of 18-34. ALSO READ: 33% women watch porn once a week: Survey

With a rapid increase in the number of smartphones, average mobile data consumption per smartphone in India is expected to increase five times and account for 99 percent of the total traffic by 2021. A recent study also notes that mobile phone users in India give more importance to voice over data services, indicating that it is the smartphone users who drive the need for better data services and are even ready to pay for better service.