The Indian telecom sector has seen a steady increase in monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) over the last several quarters. Now, as per data shared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the monthly ARPU of the telecom sector for wireless services increased by 2.55% from Rs 153.54 in QE (quarter ending) March 2024 to Rs 157.45 in QE June 2024. On a YoY basis, this is an ARPU growth of 8.11% in a quarter.
The prepaid ARPU per month increased from Rs 150.74 in the previous quarter to Rs 154.80 in the June quarter. As for the postpaid ARPU, there was a marginal increase from Rs 187.85 in the previous quarter to Rs 189.17.
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The total number of internet subscribers in the country went up from 954.40 million in the March 2024 quarter to 969.60 million at the end of June 2024. Out of the 969.60 million internet subscribers, only 42.04 million users were wired internet subscribers while the remaining 927.56 million users were wireless internet users.
The gross revenue of the sector decreased by 2.16% compared to the previous quarter to Rs 86,031 crore. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) increased by 0.13% QoQ to Rs 70,555 crore. There was an increase in license fee from Rs 5,637 crore to Rs 5,645 crore.
The total wireless subscriber base in India saw a net increase of 5.04 million users. This took the total number of wireless users in the country to 1,170.53 million at the end of June 2024.
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The sector should see better growth in the ARPU in the coming quarters as telcos have increased the prepaid and postpaid prices of their mobile plans. There is no hike in fixed broadband, but that's already a high-ARPU game for the telcos. The mobile services tariff hikes will boost revenues for Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea (Vi). State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has not engaged in direct tariff hikes yet.
