As per data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Kerala recorded the maximum revenue growth of 14 percent in the period between April and June of 2014 and AMJ 2015. The revenue of the state increased from Rs 1878.44 crore in the AMJ quarter of 2014 to 2135.4 crore in AMJ 2015.
Idea seems to be the biggest beneficiary of this growth in the Kerala circle with the company recording maximum growth of 20.6 percent. The company’s revenue increased from Rs 704.93 crore in AMJ 2014 to Rs 887.87 crore in AMJ 2015. Vodafone is at second spot in the circle with the company’s revenue increasing from Rs 450.77 crore in AMJ 2014 to Rs 513.14 crore in AMJ 2015. Kerala is a category `B’ circle and has a tele-density of around 95%.
Overall, the telcos recorded an increase of 6 percent with revenue increasing from Rs 44736.06 crore in AMJ 2014 to Rs 47627.39 crore in AMJ 2015. Significantly, the top three telcos outgrew the market during this time frame. While both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India recorded an increase of 7%, Idea Cellular recorded an increase of 17% in its revenue during this time period.
Kerala circle was followed by Karnataka (category `A’ circle), which recorded a growth of 11% with revenue increasing from Rs 3302.6 crore in AMJ 2014 to Rs 3662.2 in AMJ 2015. Bharti Airtel is the clear leader in this circle with a revenue of Rs 1517 crore in AMJ 2014 increasing to Rs 1774.69 crore in AMJ 2015. Bharti is followed by Vodafone, which recorded a revenue of Rs 522.76 crore at the end of AMJ 2015. (See Fig 1) .
Though Kerala and Karnataka have recorded the highest revenue growth in the given time period, they are not the highest revenue generating circles for the service providers. With revenues of Rs 3933.51 crore in AMJ 2015, Maharashtra is the highest revenue generating circle for the service providers. Maharashtra is closely followed by Delhi, which generated revenue of Rs 3858.58 crore in AMJ 2015. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Mumbai are the other top revenue generating circles for the Indian telcos. (See Fig 2) .
On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh recorded the least revenue of Rs 312.33 crore in AMJ 2015, followed by North East, which has a revenue of Rs 495.51 crore in the same time period. Orissa, Assam, and Jammu & Kashmir are other circles with least revenue in AMJ 2015. (See Fig 3)
Interestingly, circles like Assam and J&K, which recorded a low revenue growth, ended up with high subscriber growth in the same time frame. For instance, Assam’s subscriber base grew by 13 percent and Jammu & Kashmir’s subscriber base increased by 16 percent. This increase in the subscriber base was, unfortunately, not matched by a corresponding increase in revenue.