1990s | BSNL landline launched |
2000 | BSNL was incorporated by the Government of India |
2002 | Launched mobile services (Cellone) across all BSNL circles |
2005 | Launched broadband services |
2009 | Launched 3G services |
2013 | Launched multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) technology to offer IP VPN services |
2018 | BSNL Wing Services in 22 telecom circles launched |
2020 | Bharat Fiber (FTT) launched |
2019 | Launched 4G services |
2020 | Launched satellite-based Internet of things (IoT) device service |
Total | BSNL | MTNL | Reliance Jio | Bharti Airtel | Vodafone-Idea | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Market Share – Wireless | 1,167.71 million customers | 10.14 | 0.28 | 35.54 | 29.83 | 24.2 |
Market Share – Wireline | 20.19 million customers | 33.75 | 14.48 | 15.6 | 23.3 | 2.58 |
Employee Strength | 65,296 | 3,899 | 17,500 | 9,958 | 11,486 | |
ARPU | 69 | 69 | 164 | 177 | 141 |
In Rs million | Vodafone-Idea | Bharti Airtel | Reliance Jio | MTNL | BSNL | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mar-18 | Mar-19 | Mar-18 | Mar-19 | Mar-18 | Mar-19 | Mar-18 | Mar-19 | Mar-18 | Mar-19 | |
Net sales | 2,78,000 | 3,67,668 | 5,36,630 | 4,96,080 | 22,718 | 19,717 | 2,14,376 | 1,72,687 | ||
Other operating income | 88 | 341 | – | – | 1,550 | 630 | 12,302 | 9,377 | ||
Raw material consumed | 1,357 | 1,335 | 277 | 141 | 59 | – | – | 5,247 | ||
Power and fuel | 29,766 | 57,594 | 45,647 | 46,847 | 2,441 | 2,370 | 27,107 | 25,868 | ||
Labour cost | 14,192 | 21,221 | 17,209 | 14,710 | 26,405 | 24,381 | 1,48,372 | 1,51,125 | ||
Selling and distribution | 36,152 | 39,339 | 39,292 | 48,845 | 504 | 316 | 2,076 | 14,040 | ||
Other cost | 1,40,399 | 2,09,611 | 2,55,560 | 2,75,389 | 7,830 | 7,650 | 1,01,695 | 86,885 | ||
Expenditure capitalised | – | – | – | – | (1,943) | (1,655) | – | (9,243) | ||
Interest and finance charges | 49,729 | 95,510 | 58,285 | 78,364 | 15,055 | 17,032 | 519 | 7,857 | ||
Depreciation | 83,161 | 1,44,098 | 1,30,486 | 1,50,876 | 10,287 | 9,837 | 58,316 | 57,829 | ||
Non-operating income | 3,130 | 10,819 | 9,320 | 23,772 | 5,065 | 4,801 | 8,863 | 2,714 | ||
Cash/non-cash adjustment | 422 | 591 | 2,233 | 14,743 | 1,817 | 909 | 23,205 | 4,098 | ||
Extra-ordinary income/(Expenses) | (196) | 12,284 | (6,006) | 28,525 | (243) | (28) | – | – | ||
Tax | (25,159) | (36,362) | (5,371) | (33,762) | – | – | 590 | – | ||
Source(s): Compiled by the authors from company annual reports and “CRISIL Research” Database
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About the authors.
Prof. (Dr) Rohit Kumar is currently working as an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, in the Strategic Management area. He has more than 15 years of teaching experience and has published more than 30 research papers and case studies in journals of repute. He is a Fellow of the Insurance Institute of India (FIII), Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute (ACII), UK and Certified- Risk and Insurance Manager (C-RIM). He is also an Accredited Management Teacher (AMT).
Pallav Bose is pursuing her Ph.D. from Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi, in the Strategic Management area. His research interest includes strategic leadership and competitive strategies.
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This paper analyzes the transition of the Indian telecom sector from a monopolistic to a competitive environment. Though similar transitions have occurred in other countries, India’s shift is particularly striking due to the short period within which changes occurred. The National Telecom Policy of 1994 and the New Telecom Policy of 1999 established a strong and independent regulatory mechanism with well-defined powers and responsibilities. This regulatory mechanism sustains a competitive environment in the services sector by establishing guidelines for service providers, monitoring compliance, and providing a framework for dispute settlement. Additional reforms clearly separated regulatory and adjudicatory functions and created a specialized tribunal, which operates independently of the regulator, to settle disputes.
Reforms have allowed the telecom sector to address a wide range of issues, including quality of service, protection of consumer interest, and the growth of telecom services in rural areas. In addition, both the regulatory mechanism and the tribunal are key factors in attracting investments and their success has sparked phenomenal growth in wireline and wireless telephones and value-added services. India must ensure it remains on the current path of reform so that the telecom sector and its customers can continue to benefit from new technologies.
Education, hiv, and early fertility: experimental evidence from kenya, gendered spheres of learning and household decision making over fertility, dispute resolution mechanisms in the telecom sector: relating international practices to indian experience.
9 Pages Posted: 4 May 2020
Galgotias University, School of Law
Date Written: March 27, 2020
From enjoying natural monopolies to witnessing tough competition for services, the telecom sector in India has come a long way. It is now characterized by one of the fastest-growing sectors of deploying the latest technology and driving the economic growth in India. With the rapid intervention of innovation and competition redefining the sector dynamics, there are new emerging challenges that force the telecom and competition authorities to rethink their role and function and adopt a collaborative approach in deciding intersecting issues. In 2017, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a new entrant in the telecommunications market approached Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the incumbents for forming a cartel to deny market entry. Prior to that, it approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) against the incumbents for denying adequate points of interconnection. CCI passed an order in favour of the informant, which was challenged in the Bombay High Court and later appeared in the Supreme Court of India. The case that breathed fresh air at every level of Court in the country is a landmark decision in settling the role of CCI with respect to telecom sectoral regulators, particularly in issues that simultaneously fall within the jurisdiction of both the bodies. The objectives of both legislation, when reading together, intend to create an environment that may facilitate fair competition. In fulfilling the concerned objective, the jurisdiction of TRAI and the CCI overlap. Although the watchdogs (CCI and TRAI) share a common goal, they differ in their mandate and approach. The difference in the approach adopted by the CCI and TRAI towards a similar objective leads to cases of jurisdictional conflicts. The Researcher aims to analyze the decision of the Supreme Court of India in terms of its far-reaching effects on CCI while touching base on developments in the case at every level of proceedings through the lens of optimal regulation and competition.
Keywords: Telecommunications; Competition Commission; Telecom Service Providers; Jurisdiction; Penetrative Pricing; Sector Regulators
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Indian telecom industry analysis, india plans to manufacture mobile phones worth us$ 126 billion by 2025-26., advantage india, robust demand.
* In India, the total telephone subscriber base stood at 1,199.28 million in March 2024. Tele-density of rural subscribers reached 59.19% in March 2024.
* Total volume of wireless data usage increased by more than 10 folds from 4,206 petabytes in Q1, FY18 to 47,629 petabytes in Q2, FY24.
* Also, India is one of the biggest consumer of data worldwide. As per TRAI, average wireless data usage per wireless data subscriber was 19.47 GB per month in December 2023 from 61.66 MB in March 2014.
* India's 5G subscriptions to have 350 million by 2026, accounting for 27% of all mobile subscriptions.
* The value of export of mobile phones in FY24 increased by 42% reaching at US$ 15.6 billion.
* By 2025, India will need ~22 million skilled workers in 5G-centric technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and cloud computing.
* India ranks 2nd in "international mobile broadband internet traffic" and "international Internet bandwidth."
* The Union Cabinet approved Rs. 12,195 crore (US$ 1.65 billion) production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom & networking products under the Department of Telecom. On December 2022, 42 companies have committed an investment Rs. 4,115 crore (US$ 502.95 million) comprising 28 MSMEs and 14 Non-MSMEs (eight domestic and seven global companies) approved under the PLI Scheme. To drive the development of 6G technology, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has developed a sixth-generation (6G) innovation group.
* In Union Budget 2023-24 the Department of Telecommunications was allocated Rs. 97,579.05 crore (US$ 11.92 billion). Of this, Rs. 400 crore (US$ 48.88 million) is for Research and Development, Rs. 5,000 crore (US$ 611.1 million) is for Bharatnet.
* FDI inflow in the telecom sector stood at US$ 39.32 billion between April 2000- March 2024.
* The PLI plan for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing received about Rs. 4,700 crore (US$ 569.49 million) in investment as of September 2022.
India is the world's second-largest telecommunications market. As of December 2023, tele-density stood at 85.23%. In India, the total telephone subscriber base stood at 1,190.33 million in December 2023.
As of December 2023, the wireless subscribers base stood at 1,158.49 million. As of December 2023, the wireless subscriber base of Jio stood at 459.81 million, followed by Bharti Airtel (257.37 million), Vodafone Idea 127.28 million, and BSNL (21.28 million).
Total broadband subscriptions in the country grew from 149.75 million in FY16 to 904.54 million in FY23 (April-December). The number of wired broadband subscriptions stood at 38.35 million in FY24 (April-December). Wireless broadband subscribers stood at 866.19 million in FY24 (April-December). As of December 2023, the top five service providers were as follows: Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd stood at 470.19 million, followed by Bharti Airtel (264.76 million), Vodafone Idea 127.29 million, and BSNL (25.12 million).
In April-September 2023 India’s Internet subscribers reached 918.19 million of which 37.11 million were wired subscribers and 881.08 million were wireless internet subscribers.
India is also the second-largest country in terms of internet subscribers. India is one of the biggest consumers of data worldwide. India was the second-largest market for Google Play in 2019 and was estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11% between 2018 to 2022. In 2020, India accounted for 14% of the global app installs. Indians downloaded over 28 billion apps on their mobiles in 2022 and accounted for 5% of the 625 billion downloads globally. App downloads in the country increased from 12.07 billion in 2017 to 19 billion in 2019. The Government of India intends to establish one hundred labs for creating applications using 5G services in engineering universities as part of the Union Budget 2023, in order to realize a new range of possibilities, business models, and job potential.
The aggregated data consumed as of September 2023, was 73,23,038 GB. The total wireless data usage in India grew at a rate of 5.9% from 44,967 PB in June 2023 to 47,629 PB in September 2023. Out of total data wireless usage, 2G data usage was 46 PB, 3G data usage was 353 PB, 4G data usage was 42,505 and 5G data usage was 2,063 PB during the (April 2023- June 2023) quarter. The contribution of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G data usage to the total volume of wireless data usage was at 0.10%, 0.78%, 94.53% and 4.59%.
Gross revenue of the telecom sector stood at Rs. 82,741 crore (US$ 9.99 billion) in the second quarter of FY24. Strong policy support from the Government has been crucial to the sector’s development. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the telecom sector increased to 100% from 74%. In October 2021, the government notified 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) via the automatic route from the previous 49% in the telecommunications sector.
FDI inflow in the telecom sector stood at US$ 39.31 billion between April 2000-December 2023.
To make India 5G-ready, there's a push for fiberisation of telecom towers. Currently, 36% of towers are fiberized, and plans involve deploying 12 lakh towers.
In May 2023, STT GDC invested Rs. 2,000 crore (US$ 242.33 million) in two more data centres in Pune.
As of March 2023, Jio partnered with EESL to provide 1 million smart prepaid meters in Bihar.
In February 2022, Bharti Airtel acquired 10% strategic stake in a Singapore-based start-up, Aqilliz.
In January 2022, Google made a US$ 1 billion investment in Airtel through the India Digitization Fund.
According to a Zenith Media survey, India is expected to become the fastest-growing telecom advertisement market, with an annual growth rate of 11% between 2020 and 2023.
The Government of India, through its National Digital Communications Policy, foresee investment worth US$ 100 billion in the telecommunications sector by 2022. The government is encouraging global telecom network manufacturers such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, and Huawei to manufacture all their equipment in India with 100% local products. The Rs. 12,195 crore (US$ 1.65 billion) production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme already triggered the entry of several global players manufacturing mobile devices and components. European telecom gear vendors like Ericsson and Nokia are eager to expand their existing operations in India for a global supply chain under the PLI scheme. Similarly, global vendors like Samsung, Cisco, Ciena, Jabil, Foxconn, Sanmina, and Flex have shown interest in setting up manufacturing in India for telecom and networking products under the newly announced PLI scheme.
As of March 2023, the PLI scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing (LSEM) attracted investment of Rs. 5,998 crore (US$ 726.77 million) and led to a total production of Rs. 2,76,903 crore (US$ 33.55 billion), including exports of Rs. 1,28,886 crore (US$ 15.61 billion).
In March 2021, TEPC (Telecom Equipment Export Promotion Council) organised India Telecom 2021—a platform for convergence of technologies and business exchange.
In July 2021, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL), on behalf of the Department of Telecommunication, invited global tender for the development of BharatNet through the Public-private Partnership model in 9 separate packages across 16 states for a concession period of 30 years. Under this project, the government provided a maximum grant of Rs. 19,041 crore (US$ 2.56 billion) as viability gap funding.
In August 2021, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) officials stated that it is working on a package, which includes reducing the revenue share licence fee to 6% of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of the operators from the current 8%. This would be done by reducing the 5% universal service obligation levy by two percentage points and providing relief of about Rs. 3,000 crore (US$ 403.63 million) annually to the operators.
In October 2021, Telecom Secretary Mr. K. Rajaraman inaugurated the Quantum Communication Lab at the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Delhi, and unveiled the indigenously developed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solution by C-DOT. QKD can support a distance of >100 kms on standard optical fibre.
The Union Cabinet approved Rs. 12,195 crore (US$ 1.65 billion) production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom & networking products under the Department of Telecom.
Note: F- Forecast, PB - Petabytes
The government plans to invest US$ 7.15 billion (Rs. 60,000 crore) over 5 years to upgrade ITIs, focusing on industry collaboration and outcome-driven skill development.
The Indian telecom sector saw notable growth in FY24, with teledensity rising to 85.69%, internet subscribers reaching 95.4 crore, and broadband subscriptions surging by 9.15%, reflecting robust sector expansion.
India's goal of becoming a US$ 35 trillion economy by 2047 is driving the manufacturing sector's shift towards automation, which is anticipated to enhance female recruitment and promote inclusivity, says TeamLease Services.
Airtel Chairman Mr. Sunil Mittal highlighted the growth opportunities as India aims for a US$ 35 trillion economy by 2047, emphasizing 5G's role in digital advancement.
The FY25 Budget increases Customs duty on PCBA to 15% to bolster domestic telecom manufacturing while expanding Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and establishing US$ 119.5 million (Rs. 1,000 crore) funds to enhance the space economy.
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Production linked incentive (pli) scheme, investible projects, major investors, data on map.
Quick links, connecting the world.
The Telecom industry in India is the second largest in the world with a subscriber base of 1.096 Bn as of Jun 2024 (wireless + wireline subscribers). India has an overall tele-density of 85.95%, of which, the tele-density of the rural market, which is largely untapped, stands at 59.65% while the tele-density of the urban market is 133.46%.
By the end of Mar 2024, the total number of internet subscribers increased to over 954 Mn (narrowband + broadband subscribers), out of which 41.73% of the internet subscribers belonged to the rural areas. The average monthly data consumption per wireless data subscriber has also increased to 17.36 GB GB in Mar 2023 from 61.66 MB in Mar 2014.
The industry’s exponential growth over the last few years is primarily driven by affordable tariffs, wider availability, roll-out of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), expanding 3G and 4G coverage, evolving consumption patterns of subscribers, Government’s initiatives towards bolstering India’s domestic telecom manufacturing capacity, and a conducive regulatory environment.
To further expedite digital connectivity, the Government has approved the auction of IMT/5G spectrum for deployment of 5G services within the country. This auction was successfully held by the end of Jul 2022 and grossed $18.77 Bn.
The Telecom sector is the 4th largest sector in terms of FDI inflows, contributing 6% of total FDI inflow, and contributes directly to 2.2 Mn employment and indirectly to 1.8 Mn jobs. Between 2014 and 2021, the FDI inflows in the Telecom sector rose by 150% to $20.72 Bn from $8.32 Bn during 2002-2014. 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has now been allowed in the Telecom
For further FDI details, please refer to FDI Policy read with Press Note. 4 .
Broadband Connections (as on 30th Jun 2024)
Total employment
User Base of 5G
No. of smart cities
India currently has the world’s second-largest subscriber base of 1.09 Bn.
Active internet users in India are more than 950 Mn.
India is aiming to manufacture mobile phones worth $126 Bn by 2025-26.
The Telecommunications industry is divided into following subsectors: Infrastructure, Equipment, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MNVO), White Space Spectrum, 5G, Telephone service providers and Broadband.
As per GSMA, India is on its way to becoming the second-largest smartphone market globally by 2025 with around 1 Bn installed devices and is expected to have 920 Mn unique mobile subscribers by 2025 which will include 88 Mn 5G connections. It is also estimated that 5G technology will contribute approximately $450 Bn to the Indian Economy in the period of 2023-2040.
India added over 500 Mn new smartphone users over the last decade. We are expected to have 850 Mn smartphone users by 2026, representing ~55% of the total population.
Under the Union Budget 2023, The Government of India plans to set up one hundred labs for developing applications using 5G services in engineering institutions to realize a new range of opportunities, business models, and employment potential.
The DoT is targeting a combination of 100% broadband connectivity in the villages, 70% fiberisation of towers, average broadband speeds of 50 Mbps and 50 Lakh kms of optic fibre rollouts at a pan-India level by Dec 2024. Broadband connections rose to 924.07 Mn in Mar 2024 from 61 Mn in Mar 2014, growing by 1414%.
Pli schemes under atmanirbhar bharat abhiyan.
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme worth INR 12,195 Cr for manufacturing of telecom and networking products. Incentives worth more than INR 4,000 Cr have been earmarked for the Design Led Manufacturing Scheme of the existing PLI Scheme.
In 2021, large scale structural and procedural reforms have been brought in to enhance liquidity and minimise financial stress within the telecom sector.
Under the BharatNet Project 1,77,550 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made service ready till June 2022. Scope of BharatNet Project has been extended to all inhabited villages in the country.
India is one of the highest consumers of data per day with approximately 5 hours of daily time spend on smartphones.
Provision of public Wi-Fi service through Public Data Offices (PDOs) spread across the country to accelerate the expansion of broadband internet services.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi had given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in Telecom & Networking Products sector for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports – Atmanirbhar Bharat. In June 2022, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) amended the guidelines for PLI Scheme to introduce Design-led Manufacturing Scheme as part of the PLI Scheme with additional incentives worth more than INR $533.33 Mn. Applications closed on 20th July 2022. Achievements: • Total 31 applicants have been approved under the Scheme, out of which 16 are MSME, 8 Non- MSME (Domestic) and 7 Non-MSME (Global). These companies are expected to invest $450 Mn, generate 40,000 jobs and incremental production of over $24.4 Bn throughout the tenure of the PLI Scheme. • INR 1330 Cr investments has been generated till Feb 2023.
INR 12,195 Cr
Scheme Outlay
Gis - based map displaying available infrastructure for setting up business operations in the state., investment opportunities in telecom.
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100% FDI is allowed in the telecom sector under automatic route.
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Some key incentives for investors in the telecom sector are:
100% FDI is allowed in the telecom sector under the automatic route.
For more information, click here [1] [2]
Deductions claimed on account of PSTN related call charges and roaming charges (Pass through charges/Interconnect Usage Charges) actually paid to eligible Telecom Service Providers and Sales Tax & Service Tax (if included in the Gross Revenue) actually paid to Government are admissible.'
For more information, click here .
Inter-Company/Group Company transactions are those which occur between two separate legal entities e.g. transactions occurred between RCOM and RTL or transactions occurred between Vodafone Ltd and Vodafone South Ltd. are example of Inter-Company/Group Company transactions. Pass through charges between two legal entities may be routed through the bank only and not through mere ledger adjustment.
Whereas, Intra-Company/Group Company transactions are those which occur within same legal entity e.g. transactions occurred between RCOM, Delhi and RCOM UP (East) or transactions occurred between Vodafone South Ltd, AP and Vodafone South Ltd., Karnataka are example of intra-Company/Group Company transactions.
Please Note: Names of Companies used are for reference/illustration only.
Economic survey 2023-24, annual report 2022-23 | department of telecommunication, union budget 2023-24: analysis report, economic survey 2022-23, the indian telecom services performance indicators april – june, 2022, government ministry/ department.
Total documents.
By estimating the impact of real imports of innovative technologies and non-innovative equipment on the real revenue of the telecommunications operators; and the impact of real imports of non-innovative equipment and the real revenue of the telecommunications operators on the real revenue of the telecommunications operators in Armenia from the second half of 2014 till the end of 2020, we have identified which factors will mainly lead to the growth of the sector and force them to invest in innovative technology. According to the analysis of the econometric model #1, it can be said that companies increase the cost of importing innovative technologies and equipment by 6.11%, on average, as soon as revenue decreases by 1%. Secondly, import of non-innovative equipment, like phones, once every 24 months, could lead to an increase in import of innovative equipment. According to the model #2 the costs of importing non-innovative equipment have a statistically significant impact on the revenue of telecom companies, however, the import of new generation phones does not lead to a huge increase in the use of services offered by operators. 11 months after the introduction of innovative technologies, their impact on the revenue of the telecom companies becomes statistically significant and negative. We conclude that the decrease of telecoms revenue leads to the growth of real imports of innovative technologies. The model results will enable telecoms to overcome the situations that would decrease companies’ revenue, to revise the periods set for importing equipment and innovative technology.
Virtually all the sectors of economy such as finance, banking, hospitality and other businesses have grown up substantially in the past few years due to the growth of mobile service sector. From the inception of Reliance Jio in Madhya Pradesh, It has occupied a large number of customers in terms of no. of subscribers. This creates unrest among the telecom service operators operating in Madhya Pradesh. As the market moves forward, customer satisfaction becomes imperative for service firms to remain combative at marketplace. To study customer satisfaction, it is mandatory to study socio demographics of customers. Hence efforts have been made in this research paper to study the satisfaction level of customers from several demographic variables. This is a hypothetical research study in which primary data is collected from 500 active mobile users of Bhopal (MP), India. One way ANOVA and T-test were used to analyze the data through SPSS 21.0 software. Specific variables of American customer satisfaction index (ACSI) and European customer satisfaction index (ECSI) were being studied with different socio demographic variable of customers to move ahead in present research study. Significant difference was found in level of customer satisfaction with the age group and type of connection in telecom sector.
AbstractA new European Union regulatory framework for the telecom sector has been under a process of transposition to national laws by its member states that should have been completed by the end of 2020, notwithstanding some delays. A core purpose of the regulatory framework is to guarantee that most citizens will have access to very fast Internet connections, capable of 100 Mbps download link speed, regardless of where they live. According to this new framework, in areas where the market does not deliver, governments are to launch public tenders for the deployment, maintenance, and operations of network infrastructure as well as services, and public funds should be used to support the deployment of these broadband networks in less densely populated areas. Needless to say, public tenders of this nature are subject to different criteria when it comes to candidate evaluation. In this paper, we present a decision model for the selection of operators to deploy and maintain broadband networks in scarcely populated areas, taking into consideration infrastructure costs, the technical quality offered by the solutions, and the credibility of the candidates. We suggest an integrated multi-stakeholder multi-criteria approach and demonstrate how it can be used in this complex area and find that in the example provided, taking a relevant set of criteria into the analysis, optical fibre networks hold much higher chances to be used in these public tenders compared to networks based on the broadly favoured 5G technology.
A neural network based customer churn prediction algorithm for telecom sector, the impact of corporate entrepreneurship on the performance of jordanian telecom corporates.
The Telecom sector in Jordan is highly competitive in a way that affects the performance of firms working in this sector, many solutions were provided to enhance performance, but corporate entrepreneurship as a solution to significantly improve performance still not have fully adopted, that is why this research was carried to highlight the importance of such concept to improve performance. This research was aimed at determining the impact of corporate entrepreneurship dimensions (innovation, risk-taking, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness, and autonomy) on the performance of Jordanian telecom corporates in Jordan. Data were collected from 39 telecom corporates in Jordan. The questionnaires entail assessing the degree of corporate entrepreneurship in relation to the performance of telecom corporates in Jordan. SmartPLS 2.0 Statistical program was used to conduct descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings of the research indicated that corporate entrepreneurship dimensions (innovation, risk-taking, proactiveness, and competitive aggressiveness) positively affect the performance of Jordanian telecom corporates except for the autonomy dimension.
The Telecom Sector of India has grown over the years and emerged as the second largest today. The reliance Jio has planned to launch 5G in the second half of the 2021. since the launch of Jio we have seen a rapid penetration of Internet services in India. India has the 2nd largest telecom industry in India and the cheapest net provider to its people. There are 500 million active data users and by 2024 it is estimated to have more than 800 million active users and manufacture of 1 billion smart phones in the upcoming years. India is also working towards its objective to empower people digitally. We have seen a rise in the use of digital platform during the pandemic period and also India is taking it steps ahead towards digital economy. The sad reality behind this is even where India is about to launch 5G service in India 90% of the population in India are digitally illiterate with only 8% of the population have access to a laptop or a computer. India also has a poor cyber security system and the data is vulnerable of every user. We also have poor tower connection in many areas with only 25 % of the net is connected by fiber. India needs to upgrade its telecom industry and provide net facilitates to all its people as the Internet is going to dominate the future. India’s Telecom industry contributes to 6.5% of the GDP.
Background/Purpose: Telecommunication is a principal element in the current technology-driven world. The impact of mobile phone services over traditional services is the key to India witnessing the Digital revolution. This paper highlights the mobile phone services that have impacted the traditional services and the digital penetration that has been observed in almost every sector. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study is mainly based on the data collected from secondary sources of information. The secondary data sources are from annual reports of the telecom sector and websites. It is an explorative research case study that shows the emergence of mobile phone services over traditional telephone services and performs PESTLE analysis. Findings/Result: Based on the study, India has moved into a digital population to a great extent through the advancements in technology and internet services through data packs and broadband connections. The mobile phone services along with the Telecom sector in India have played a crucial role in this transformation with connectivity, affordability, and technological change. Originality/Value: This paper analyzes and interprets the data collected from the past 10 years with respect to telecommunications services and mobile services in India. Based on the findings and their interpretation, new knowledge in the form of recommendations/suggestions is presented. Paper Type: Industry Analysis as a Research Case Study.
In the corporate world, the importance of corporate governance is gearing up day by day. As per the new regulations in India every company has the responsibility to disclose required information to the stakeholders whenever they want. The seven pillars of good corporate governance include Accountability, fairness, transparency, assurance, leadership, and stakeholder management. Among the seven pillars, disclosure practices are related to corporate transparency. Governance disclosure practices are one of the important pillars of good corporate governance which add value to the governance. Since the fiscal deficit faced by the Indian economy in 1991 Indian companies also urge good corporate governance. This paper aims to study the corporate governance disclosure practices in the top five companies in the Indian telecom sector. For the study, five year’s annual reports of the selected five companies have been analyzed and for evaluating the corporate governance disclosure practices an assessment model has been adopted. The company having the highest average score of corporate governance disclosure is considered as the company has good corporate governance and vice versa.
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Spectrum usage charges collected by the government saw 32% fall.
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First Published: Aug 14 2024 | 10:03 PM IST
The Indian telecom sector made significant strides during the financial year 2023-24. Between March 2023 and March 2024, the total number of internet subscribers in India increased by 8.3 percent, rising from 881.25 million to 954.4 million. India’s overall teledensity increased from 84.51 percent in March 2023 to 85.69 percent in March 2024, at an annual growth rate of 1.39 percent.
On August 14, 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its report titled “The Indian Telecom Services Yearly Performance Indicators 2023-24.” The report highlights that the sector’s gross revenue experienced an annual growth of 0.71 percent, rising from INR 3.33 trillion (US$39.6 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 3.36 trillion (US$40 billion) in 2023-24.
The Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) also rose by 6.38 percent, climbing to INR 3.23 trillion (US$38.4 billion) in 2023-24 from INR 3.03 trillion (US$36.1 billion) the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by heightened data consumption and consumer upgrades, resulting in an 8.24 percent increase in telecom providers’ Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), which surged from INR 2.49 trillion (US$29.6 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 2.7 trillion (US$32.1 billion) in 2023-24.
AGR refers to the revenue earned by telecom operators from their core services, such as the provision of mobile and internet services, after excluding certain deductions. In October 2021, the Department of Telecom (DoT) introduced the concept of the applicable gross revenue (ApGR), which is arrived at by removing all non-telecom revenues earned by telecom companies from their gross revenue.
Reliance Jio led the Indian telecom sector with 9.62 percent year-on-year AGR growth, rising from INR 892.79 billion (US$10.6 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 978.68 billion (US$11.6 billion) in 2023-24. Bharti Airtel followed with a 12.12 percent increase, reaching INR 805.29 billion (US$9.5 billion).
However, government-owned telecom service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) faced declines of 1.92 percent and 22.34 percent, respectively, with MTNL’s AGR falling from INR 7.85 billion (US$93.5 million) in 2022-23 to INR 6.10 billion (US$72.6 million) in 2023-24.
In terms of the increase in telecom subscribers, the report notes that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. added 42.42 million (net addition) telephone subscribers as of the end of March 2024.
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Reliance Jio | 439.35 | 481.77 | 42.42 | 9.66 percent | 37.48 percent | 40.17 percent |
Bharti Airtel | 378.06 | 394.54 | 16.48 | 4.36 percent | 32.25 percent | 32.90 percent |
Vodafone Idea | 237.45 | 220.60 | -16.85 | -7.10 percent | 20.25 percent | 18.39 percent |
BSNL | 110.79 | 94.75 | -16.04 | -14.48 percent | 9.45 percent | 7.90 percent |
MTNL | 4.66 | 4.10 | -0.56 | -12.00 percent | 0.40 percent | 0.34 percent |
Tata Tele. | 1.54 | 2.29 | 0.74 | 48.33 percent | 0.13 percent | 0.19 percent |
Quadrant | 0.34 | 0.41 | 0.07 | 21.77 percent | 0.03 percent | 0.03 percent |
Reliance Com. | 0.15 | 0.13 | -0.02 | -14.20 percent | 0.01 percent | 0.01 percent |
VMIPL | – | 0.05 | 0.05 | – | 0.00 percent | 0.00 percent |
APSFL | – | 0.64 | 0.64 | – | 0.00 percent | 0.05 percent |
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Source: The Indian Telecom Services Yearly Performance Indicators 2023-2024
Meanwhile, the telecom license fees in India saw an 8.45 percent rise, growing from INR 199.54 billion (US$2.3 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 216.42 billion (US$2.5 billion) in 2023-24.
However, spectrum usage charges (SUC) decreased significantly by 32.20 percent, dropping from INR 49.68 billion (US$592 million) in 2022-23 to INR 33.69 billion (US$401.5 million) in 2023-24.
As of March 31, 2024, private telecom service providers dominate the Indian wireless telephone subscription market, holding a 92.26 percent share. In contrast, public sector undertakings (PSUs), specifically BSNL and MTNL, account for only 7.74 percent of the market share. The Adjusted Gross Revenue share for PSUs declined to 6.64 percent in 2023-24, down from 7.04 percent the previous year. However, their AGR contribution slightly increased to INR 179.73 billion (US$2.14 billion) in 2023-24, up from INR 176.05 billion (US$2.09 billion) in 2022-23.
Regarding broadband subscriptions, mobile devices (including dongles and telephones) remain the predominant mode of access, making up 95.58 percent of total broadband subscribers as of March 2024. In contrast, wired internet subscribers represented only 4.33 percent of the total during the same period.
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Total internet subscribers | 954.40 million |
% change over previous quarter | 1.95% |
Narrowband subscribers | 30.34 million |
Broadband subscribers | 924.07 million |
Wired internet subscribers | 40.27 million |
Wireless internet subscribers | 914.13 million |
Urban internet subscribers | 556.05 million |
Rural internet subscribers | 398.35 million |
Total internet subscribers per 100 population | 68.19 |
Urban internet subscribers per 100 population | 111.75 |
Rural internet subscribers per 100 population | 44.16 |
Total outgoing minutes of usage for internet telephony | 93.47 million |
No. of public Wi-Fi hotspots | 165,147 |
Aggregate data consumed (GB) | 4,111,451 |
Source: TRAI
The number of telephone subscribers in India has increased from 1.17 billion in March 2023 to 1.19 billion in March 2024, with a growth rate of 2.30 percent.
Broadband subscribers increased from 846 million in March 2023 to 924 million in March 2024, showing a robust 9.15 percent growth, with 78 million new subscribers.
From March 2023 to March 2024, the total number of internet subscribers in India grew by 8.3 percent, increasing from 881.25 million to 954.4 million.
Wireless data subscribers grew from 846 million in March 2023 to 913 million in March 2024, with a 7.93 percent growth rate.
Data usage surged 21.69 percent, from 1,60,054 PB (Petabyte) in 2022-23 to 1,94,774 PB (Petabyte) in 2023-24.
(US$1 = INR 83.91)
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Exponential data consumption by wireless intenet subscribers, overall tele-density increases.
Trai recommends terahertz spectrum for research and trials: all you need to know, "communications in the terahertz band are expected to play a pivotal role in the upcoming 6th generation (6g) of wireless mobile communications,” the recommendations said..
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended the creation of a TeraHertz Experimental Authorisation (THEA) for the 95 GHz to 3 THz spectrum. This proposal aims to drive innovation by facilitating research, testing, and trials and enabling the sale of experimental devices within this high-frequency range.
The authorisation, costing Rs. 1,000, should be available to Indian entities such as academic institutions, government bodies, TSPs, and tech parks. It should be valid for five years with an option for extension, the regulator proposed.
“THEA would help experimenters to evaluate the performance of products in the TeraHertz band in the conception, development and design stages which would, in turn, pave a path to ascertain the technical viability of technologies and services built on the TeraHertz spectrum,” the TRAI statement released on Wednesday said.
In December 2022, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested the telecom regulator to provide recommendations on its proposal for opening and de-licensing the use of certain unused or limitedly used TeraHertz Spectrum for demand generation and experimentation.
The proposal included new "Spectrum-Terahertz Applications Licenses" and the delicensing of specific bands for unlicensed use, including the 77-81 GHz band for automotive radar. TRAI then issued a consultation paper in September 2023, gathered feedback from 17 stakeholders, held discussions, and released its final recommendations on August 21.
Additionally, the regulator recommended exempting certain frequency bands (116-123 GHz, 174.8-182 GHz, 185-190 GHz, and 244-246 GHz) from authorisation and assignment requirements.
TRAI also proposed opening the 77-81 GHz frequency range for automotive radar systems in India, enhancing vehicle safety. These radars, including long-range and short-range types, help detect obstacles, monitor blind spots, and provide collision warnings, significantly improving driver awareness and safety. Internationally, similar radar systems are already used to enhance road safety through various applications like lane departure and parking aids.
What is the TeraHertz spectrum and what are its use cases?
The radio spectrum spans from 3 Hz to 3,000 GHz. Lower frequencies travel long distances but carry less data, while higher frequencies carry more data over shorter distances. Mid-range frequencies (300 MHz to 6 GHz) balance distance and capacity, making them ideal for mobile and wireless communication services. The TeraHertz band, ranging from 100 GHz to 3,000 GHz, extends beyond the frequencies currently used by mobile phones and Wi-Fi.
Effective radiation could be produced with high-speed transistors at lower microwave frequencies and with semiconductor lasers at higher visible frequencies. Thus the ‘Tremendously high frequency’ band was once considered too high for electronics and too low for photonics, creating what is known as the TeraHertz gap for which very few practical technologies could be seen.
However, ongoing research into the TeraHertz band has revealed promising potential and future applications.
“Communications in the TeraHertz band are expected to play a pivotal role in the upcoming 6th generation (6G) of wireless mobile communications, enabling ultra-high bandwidth communication,” the recommendations said.
The recommendations paper also outlined that other potential uses for the spectrum include high-capacity applications such as high-resolution 3D imaging holography, sensing applications for health screening and product inspection, high-precision tasks like robotic assembly and accurate stocktaking, and short-range applications for closely spaced devices in factories and offices.
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