According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)’s sector performance report, consumer spending on mobile services jumped sequentially in October-December quarter of 2023, driven by cricket World Cup, which galvanised smartphone sales in the festive season, propelled strong customer upgrades from 2G to 4G/5G services and boosted data usage levels.
As per report, consumer spending (after GST) on mobile services rose 2.5 per cent sequentially to around Rs 547.5 billion during third quarter of financial year 2024 (Q3FY24). In the fiscal second quarter (Q2), this growth was 1.84 per cent. Spending on data was Rs 475.603 billion, up 3.4 per cent from the previous quarter when sequential growth was 3 per cent.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of telecom operators rose 1.8 per cent on-quarter to Rs 158, on the back of an acceleration in 2G to 4G/5G conversions, rising postpaid user base and higher data consumption.
The surge in customer upgrades to 4G/5G services was visible.
The 4G segment contributed nearly 87 per cent to total data usage in Q3FY24, while 5G accounted for 12.6 per cent.
By contrast, the 2G and 3G user segments accounted for paltry 0.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
Jio and Bharti Airtel reported around 2.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent sequential growth in average monthly data usage per user to 27.3 GB and 22 GB, respectively in Q3 FY24, due to a rapid uptake of 5G services.
However, without 5G and a weaker 4G presence, Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) suffered a 2.8 per cent sequential fall in data usage to 15.73 GB, especially as Jio and Airtel gained more mobile broadband users at its expense amid the 2023 Cricket World Cup action.
As per the data, the net industry revenue growth was slightly slower at 8 per cent on-year compared to 8.5 per cent rise in consumer spends on mobile services during the same period, as intercompany settlements between the telcos rose over 20.5 per cent from a year earlier.
