iStock鈥淚ndia鈥檚 mobile services landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation, with 5G emerging as the key growth engine amid declining traditional voice revenues.”
India鈥檚 mobile services revenue is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4% to $39.3 billion in 2029 from $30.2 billion in 2023, boosted by the continued rise in service penetration, especially in rural and underserved markets and growth in the 5G-led mobile data services segment, a report said.Mobile voice service revenue though is set to fall at 2.5% annually, due to the growing consumer preference for internet-based communication services, bundling of free voice minutes with mobile service plans, analytics firm GlobalData said. It added that this would lead to a drop in the voice average revenue per user (ARPU) levels.But mobile data services will offset that drop to help the total mobile services market to maintain strong growth till 2029, GlobalData said. Mobile data service revenue is expected to increase at 9.3% CAGR between 2024 and 2029, driven by growing availability of 4G and 5G networks across the country, and increasing consumption of mobile data as adoption of higher-ARPU yielding 5G data plans rises. 鈥淭he average monthly data usage over mobile networks is forecast to increase from 23.9GB in 2024 to 51.5GB in 2029, driven by the growing consumption of online video and social media content over smartphones, on the back of data-centric packages offered by telcos,鈥 said Hrushikesh Mahananda, a telecom research analyst at GlobalData. The firm said that while 4G will remain the leading mobile technology in terms of subscriptions till 2026, 5G subscriptions will surpass 4G to account for 67% share of the total mobile subscriptions in 2029, driven by ongoing 5G expansions. Live EventsThe surge in 5G subscriptions will also be helped by increasing demand and wider availability of 5G-enabled smartphones and promotional 5G plans with value-added benefits. The research forecast market leader Reliance Jio will lead the telecom market in India through 2029 given its extensive 4G network coverage and 5G deployments across the country.鈥淚ndia鈥檚 mobile services landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation, with 5G emerging as the key growth engine amid declining traditional voice revenues,” Mahananda added.He said the ramp up in 5G deployments and data-centric offerings has set the market for sustained rise in both usage and revenue. Operators that leverage this data-driven shift and invest in rural penetration and digital inclusion will be best positioned to lead in the evolving connectivity ecosystem, GlobalData said.(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)
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