According to India Rating and Research (Ind-Ra), India’s 5G subscriber base is expected to rise to 20-25 per cent of overall users from around 17 per cent now. However, 5G adoption is not expected to be as fast as 4G because the average selling price (ASP) of 5G smartphones is still 2-4 times higher than normal smartphones.
It added that the Indian telecom industry was at an inflection point in the fiscal year 2023-24 with their investments in 5G networks and spectrum renewal having peaked to almost $20 billion. Thereafter, telcos would keep their investments subdued while possibility of tariff increase remains uncertain.
It further added that Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have guided that capital expenditure (capex) intensity would moderate from FY25 onwards as accelerated pan-India rollout of 5G was achieved by the calender year 2023 (CY2023) offering 95 per cent coverage. Therefore, the telcos would now focus on improving return on capital investment by increasing headlines.
As per Ind-Ra, significant investments in the network have improved service metrics such as higher data quantum, higher speed, other auxiliary offerings, 5G speed etc. which have far surpassed the historical tariff hikes. Also, the subscribers have been resilient in absorbing tariff increases while showing consistent growth in data usage.
