• by Ben Frederick  @mp_benfred, February 15, 2016

In the fourth quarter of 2015, India joined China as the only other country with 1 billion mobile subscriptions says global research firm Ovum. India and China are the only two countries in the world with more than a billion people in them, but it’s still a big milestone.

China reached a billion mobile subscriptions three years ago, and its wealthy citizens have driven higher growth rates than what India has currently.

According to projections in the report, India’s quality of service is poorer than China’s and will remain so, but declining 3G and 4G phone prices will continue to drive growth.

The country’s smartphone users are largely made up of 20-somethings (38%), with 30-40 year-olds making up the second largest group with about 29% of the market share, according to eMarketer.

The country’s ad market is projected to expand 16.8% in 2016, according to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report, with every sector except digital slowing down. Digital advertising accounts for about 12% of the market share in the country at the moment.

The country has recently gone head to head with Facebook, who was frustrated in its efforts to provide “Free Basics” to the country—the mechanism of which basically offers differential net pricing in India.