Indian telecom operators have had a great 2024-25. BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) not only added new users, but also reported net profits for two straight quarters. Jio, Airtel and Vi saw an uptick in their average revenue per user (ARPU) after the tariff hikes. Vi managed to raised some funds earlier in the year which allowed it to boost capex (capital expenditure). The company is trying to raise more funds in this year to continue with the capex cycle.
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The Indian telecom operators saw their ARPU per month for wireless services go up from Rs 149.25 in 2023-24 to Rs 174.46 in 2024-25. This is an yearly growth rate of 16.89%, which was possible because of the tariff hikes. However, such growth is unlikely to come during FY26. This is becauses there are no tariff hikes likely planned during the year.
For the prepaid service, ARPU per month grew from Rs 146.37 in 2023-24 to Rs 173.84 in 2024-25, said TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) data. However, for the postpaid services, ARPU dropped from Rs 184.63 to Rs 180.86 during the same period. Total wireless data subscribers in India increased from 913.14 million at the end of March 2024 to 939.51 million at the end of March 25, a yearly growth rate of 2.87%. These are good numbers considering India has already reached a matured stage with respect to data users.
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The uptick in ARPU allowed the industry to see its overall revenues go up. The total revenue increased from Rs 1,86,226 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 2,15,078 crore in 2024-25. This is an yearly growth rate of 15.49%, again possible durin the tariff hikes. The telcos would likely want to hike the tariffs again, but that's mostly going to happen in the next year. This month (July) marks exactly one year since the tariffs were last raised.
