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Mobile data to drive overall mobile services market in India until 2028
The country’s mobile service revenue is poised to increase to $32.6b.
The growth in India’s mobile data services segment is set to increase the mobile services revenue in the country from $27.7b in 2023 to $32.6b in 2028, analytics firm GlobalData said.
Based on GlobalData’s India Mobile Broadband Forecast Pack for Q1 2024, mobile data service revenue will increase at a healthy compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.1% between 2023 and 2028.
This will be driven by the growing availability of 4G/5G networks across the country, increasing consumption of mobile data services, continued rise in smartphone subscriptions, and projected rise in higher average revenue per user (ARPU) yielding 5G subscriptions, the report revealed.
“The average monthly data usage is forecast to increase from 16.4GB in 2023 to 37.4GB in 2028, driven by the growing consumption of online video and social media content over smartphones, on the back of data-centric packages offered by MNOs,” telecom analyst Hrushikesh Mahananda said.
Meanwhile, revenue in the mobile voice service category is expected to decline at a CAGR of 2.1% during the forecast period amid growing consumer preference for internet-based communication services and the subsequent decline in voice service ARPU levels. Mobile data services will however offset this decline in mobile voice service revenue.
According to GlobalData, 4G will remain the leading mobile technology in terms of subscriptions through 2028, thanks to the operators’ LTE network expansions. 5G subscriptions, on the other hand, are estimated to increase at the fastest rate over the forecast period and are expected to garner about 45% share of the total mobile subscriptions by the end of 2028 due to the ongoing 5G network investments and expansions by operators and proliferation of 5G-enabled smartphones.
Among local operators, Mahananda said that Reliance Jio will lead India’s mobile services market in terms of subscriptions through 2028 given its “strong focus on 4G and 5G network developments and expansion across the country catering to the rising demand for high-speed services by customers.”
