According to a report by Motilal Oswal, revenue growth in India’s telecom sector could moderate to single digits in the current financial year if operators refrain from raising tariffs. Industry revenues grew by around 10 per cent in financial year 2025-26 (FY26), compared to 13 per cent growth in FY25. Telecom operators are reportedly holding back on tariff increases due to inflationary pressures on household budgets, which have been further aggravated by the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
The report currently expects mobile tariffs to increase by around 15 per cent in the second quarter of the fiscal year, which would translate into a hike of approximately Rs 50 for a 28-day plan offering 1.5 GB of daily data. According to a report by Motilal Oswal, such an increase could help drive sector revenue growth to 11 per cent year-on-year, taking industry revenues to Rs 3 trillion in FY27.
The brokerage noted that wireless mobile revenue growth slowed to 7 per cent year-on-year in the quarter ended March, as the impact of tariff hikes implemented in July 2024 has now been fully absorbed. Combined wireless revenues of Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Limited grew around 10 per cent in FY26 to Rs 2.7 trillion, compared to approximately 13 per cent growth in FY25, the report said.
According to the brokerage, revenue growth during FY26 was largely supported by the premiumisation of the subscriber base in the absence of fresh headline tariff hikes. The report also highlighted that growth in data subscribers continued even as overall wireless subscriber growth has remained subdued since FY17.
