The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its performance indicator report for July-September 2024 quarter. It is worth noting that in July during the year, private Indian telcos implemented a tariff hike. This made the plans more expensive for consumers and contributed in growing the ARPU (average revenue per user) figure.
As per TRAI data, the monthly ARPU for wireless services increased by 9.60% from Rs 157.45 in QE June 2024 to Rs 172.57 in QE September 2024. On a YoY basis, the monthly ARPU for wireless services increased by 15.31% during the quarter. For the prepaid subscribers, the ARPU per month was Rs 171 and for the postpaid segment, it was Rs 190.67 during the quarter ending September 2024.
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The Gross Revenue of the Telecom Sector Jumped by 6.27%
The gross revenue (GR) of the Indian telecom sector increased by 6.27% QoQ to Rs 91,426 crore. The Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) and the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of the Indian telecom sector for QE September 2024 reached Rs 88,236 crore and Rs 75,310 crore, respectively, marking an increase of 6.20% and 6.74% in QoQ. In YoY terms, the GR, ApGR, and AGR increased by 10.50%, 10.64%, and 13.11%.
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As the AGR went up, the license fee also went up. The license fee during the quarter was Rs 5,645 crore for QE June 24 and this increased to Rs 6,023 crore for QE September 2024. The healthy growth of the industry will continue to happen in the following quarters as it will take time before the full impact of the tariff hike kicks in.
The tariff hikes led to a decline in the wireless user base in the country. During September 2024 quarter, the industry lost 16.80 million wireless subscribers, according to TRAI data. Indian telcos are witnessing a boost in their ARPU and overall revenues as more customers recharge with the new highly priced tariffs.
