Gross revenues of TSPs increased to over Rs 3.33 trillion during FY23, says TRAI data

According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the gross revenue of telecom service providers (TSPs) increased by 19.94 per cent to over Rs 3.33 trillion in FY 2022-23 from Rs 2.78 trillion in FY 2021-22. However, the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) grew 14.17 per cent on year-on-year (YoY) basis to Rs 2.49 trillion from Rs 2.18 trillion a year ago.

According to the report, revenue from wireless data usage in the country increased by about 22 per cent to Rs 1.74 trillion in FY 2022-23, whereas the revenue from wireless data services was Rs 1.43 trillion in FY 2021-22.

The report noted that total revenue from wireless data usage increased from Rs 1431.69 billion in FY 2021-22 to Rs 1741.44 billion in FY 2022-23 with yearly rate of growth of 21.63 per cent. The increase in wireless data revenue usage was mainly on account of growth in user base as telecom operators are yet to monetise 5G data services that were launched in October 2022.

The report added that government collections in the form of licence fee increased by 13.2 per cent to Rs 199.54 billion in FY 2022-23 from Rs 176.27 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, the yearly spectrum usage charges (SUC) decreased by about one-third, 29.75 per cent, to Rs 49.68 billion in FY 2022-23 from Rs 70.72 billion in FY 2021-22.

The report further noted that the total telephone subscriber base increased to 1.17 billion in FY 2022-23 from 1.16 billion a year ago. However, the overall tele-density in India declined from 84.88 per cent at the end of March 2022 to 84.51 per cent at the end of March 2023 at yearly rate of decline by 0.44 per cent.

While there was about 1 per cent increase in telephone subscription in urban areas to 653.7 million, the tele-density declined marginally by 0.84 per cent to 133.81 per cent in FY 2022-23 from 134.94 per cent a year ago.

Furthermore, the report added that in rural areas, both telecom subscriber base and tele-density declined. Rural telephone subscription decreased by 0.23 per cent to 51.86 crore at the end of March 2023 from 51.98 crore at the end of March 2022. In addition, the rural tele-density also decreased from 58.07 per cent at the end of March 2022 to 57.71 per cent at the end of March 2023 with yearly rate of decline 0.61 per cent.