According to the latest quarterly performance indicator report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Indian telecom sector saw a 3.48 per cent sequential rise in adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reaching Rs 779.34 billion in the quarter ended December 2024. On a year-on-year basis, gross revenue grew by 14.07 per cent, supported by increased wireless data usage, strong mobile subscriber additions, and tariff hikes by private players.
AGR, comprising revenue from core telecom and non-telecom services, is the basis for calculating licence fees and spectrum usage charges paid to the government. This growth pushed the Department of Telecommunications’ licence fee collections up by 3.5 per cent to Rs 623.4 billion, while spectrum usage charges rose 4.59 per cent to Rs 9.89 billion.
Among operators, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) led with a 14.81 per cent sequential AGR surge to Rs 22.92 billion, benefiting from subscriber growth after tariff hikes by private telcos. Bharti Airtel’s AGR grew 5.85 per cent to Rs 260.73 billion, Reliance Jio posted a 3.22 per cent rise to Rs 285.42 billion, and Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) saw a 1.55 per cent increase to Rs 79.58 billion.
Access services contributed 84.35 per cent to the overall telecom AGR during the quarter. On the usage front, average monthly wireless minutes per subscriber rose 3.62 per cent to 1,009 minutes. ARPU from wireless services increased 5.34 per cent to Rs 181.80.
Meanwhile, India’s internet user base declined 0.14 per cent to 970.16 million. Broadband subscribers rose slightly by 0.06 per cent to 944.96 million, whereas narrowband users fell 7.03 per cent to 25.2 million.
