The above graph represents the total annual revenue collected by telecom service providers for the usage of mobile data by their subscribers in India. The total wireless/mobile data revenue includes revenue from GSM and CDMA data usage. The total revenue from mobile data usage in India increased from Rs 38,882 crore in 2017 to Rs. 54,671crore in 2018. That represents an impressive 40.6% YoY growth. A majority of that revenue came from the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) data services.
| Region | India |
| Source | Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) |
| Graph ID | 503 |
| Last Updated | 03 October 2019 |
| Duration | 2014 – 2018 |
In 2014, the total revenue collected by India’s TSPs (telecom service providers) for the usage of wireless data by their subscribers stood at just Rs 22,265 crore.
To put things in context, India recorded over 2.5X growth in its annual revenue from mobile data usage between 2014 and 2018.
Interestingly, the GSM data revenue has registered significant year-on-year growth during the last four years, while the CDMA data revenue showed a massive declined.
The total revenue of GSM data services comprises the combined revenue of 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE) data usage during the year. In 2015, the revenue from GSM data usage increased an applaudable 44% YoY to Rs 28,728 crore, from just Rs 19,933 crore in 2014.
As the usage of 3G and 4G data by mobile subscribers in India increased over the last 2-3 years, the annual revenues collected by TSPs have also increased. Interestingly, by the end of 2018, the GSM data revenue increased to Rs 54,619 crore, with 42.9% YoY growth.
On the other hand, the annual revenue from CDMA data usage by wireless subscribers in India declined from a whopping Rs 2,332 crore in 2014 to a mere Rs 53 crore in 2018.
India’s Telecom Industry: Additional Information
India is currently the second-largest country in the world in terms of the number number of mobile subscribers and internet users. While the penetration of internet users in India is still moderate, mobile phone subscribers have almost hit the saturation point with 80% penetration.
The Telecom industry in India is going through consolidation after the debut of Reliance Jio. The government-backed BSNL is struggling and is almost on the verge of collapsing. On the other hand, in order to compete with Reliance Jio that has taken the industry by the storm with its future-ready network, all the top players have shaken hands.
Airtel and Tata Docomo merger paved the way for other companies struggling with declining ARPU and mobile subscriber base. Soon, Vodafone and Idea followed the footmarks and merged together to become the largest telecom provider in India. The celebration, however, was short-lived as Reliance Jio leapfrogged Vodafone Idea by the end of June 2019.
The telecom market in India is divided into three segments – wireless, wireline and internet services.
The above graph is a part of Dazeinfo GraphFarm – the most trusted source of hundreds of thousands of market graphs. Our team of researchers mines millions of data points every month to bring the most updated and validated set of data points representing the comprehensive view in a graphical format. From mobile to e-commerce, from Retail to healthcare, from startups to SMEs we have carefully designed thousands of graphs for those who value and understand the importance of data visualisation.
