Telecom, pay-TV services revenue in India to reach $50.7 bn in 2029

New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) Driven by mobile data and fixed broadband segment, the telecom and pay-TV services revenue in India is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5 per cent from $44.9 billion in 2024 to $50.7 billion in 2029, a report showed on Friday.

GlobalData’s ‘India Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report’ revealed that mobile voice service revenues will decline during the forecast period due to a steady decrease in mobile voice service ARPU, with users increasingly shifting to OTT communication platforms.

“4G is the leading mobile technology by subscriber base in India, accounting for 68.9 per cent of total mobile subscriptions registered in 2024. However, this share is expected to decline to 32.1 per cent in 2029, due largely to subscriber migration to high-speed 5G services,” said Srikanth Vaidya, telecom analyst at GlobalData.

Mobile data service revenues, on the other hand, will continue to increase at a healthy CAGR of 5.5 per cent over the forecast period, driven by the continued rise in smartphone adoption, growing mobile internet subscriptions, and increasing consumption of mobile data services.

According to Vaidya, 5G services, on the other hand, accounted for 15 per cent of total mobile subscriptions in 2024, which will increase to 61.8 per cent in 2029, driven by ongoing 5G network expansions by mobile operators.

For instance, Airtel’s 5G network reached 140,000 villages as of September 2024.

The report mentioned that fixed broadband service revenues is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent over the 2024-29 period in line with the steady rise in fixed broadband subscriptions, particularly over FTTH/B access lines.

“Growing demand for and increasing availability of higher-speed fibre broadband connectivity on the back of the government’s efforts to expand fibre network infrastructure across the country will drive the adoption of fibre broadband services over the forecast period,” said Vaidya.

For instance, the Phase III of the BharatNet, worth Rs 650 billion ($7.8 billion) is expected to start in near term with an aim to improve fiber broadband connectivity in rural areas across the country.