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The telecom sector witnessed a 1.88 per cent sequential growth in adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reaching Rs 67,835 crore in the third quarter (October-December) of FY24, data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday shows. AGR is the basis on which the Department of Telecom (DoT) calculates levies payable by operators, and had increased by 1.46 per cent and 1.75 per cent in the preceding two quarters.
The quarterly Telecom Services Performance Indicator report also revealed that AGR increased by 7.84 per cent in Q3 year-on-year, as a result of rising Average Revenue per User (ARPU) of telecom operators.
The gross revenue of telecom service providers also rose 2.13 per cent sequentially to Rs 84,500 crore in Q3. However, it was down by 4 per cent on an annual basis.
Meanwhile, the license fee collected in Q3 increased by 2 per cent over the quarter to Rs 5,433 crore. On an annual basis, it increased by 8 per cent.
The collections from spectrum usage charge (SUC) went up marginally by 1.06 per cent on a quarterly basis, rising to Rs 845 crore during the latest reported quarter, up from Rs 833 crore. It was up by 4 per cent on an annual basis. SUC collections had seen consecutive declines before this as a result of the government's decision to cease charging the statutory fee on airwaves acquired from the 5G auction held in July 2022.
Market leader Reliance had the highest AGR of Rs 22,985 crore in Q4FY23, rising by 1.7 per cent from the preceding quarter, and 11.25 per cent from Rs 20,659 crore registered in Q4FY22. Second place Bharti Airtel saw AGR rise by 1.15 per cent sequentially to Rs 18,500 crore in Q4FY23. It rose 15.3 per cent on an annual basis from Rs 18,290 crore in Q4FY22.
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Vodafone Idea (Vi) saw AGR in the March quarter of FY23 decline 1.61 per cent sequentially, hitting Rs 7,210 crore. On an annual basis, the cash-strapped telco's AGR saw no movement.
State-owned BSNL saw AGR rise 4.9 per cent on a sequential basis to Rs 2,083 crore. AGR was up 19.02 per cent on an annual basis.
Access service providers, which include companies like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, BSNL, etc., contributed 80.06 per cent of the total AGR of telecom services.
ARPU Rising
The report also showed monthly ARPUs for wireless services crossed the Rs 150 mark in India to reach Rs 152.5 in Q3.
Monthly prepaid ARPUs inched up 2 per cent sequentially to Rs 149.56, up from Rs 148 in the preceding quarter.
Monthly ARPU from the postpaid segment jumped to Rs 189.08, up from Rs 167.9 in the preceding Q2. The postpaid segment is considered premium by telcos who are increasingly trying to convert subscribers into postpaid users.
Q3 was the second consecutive quarter of growth for postpaid ARPU. Before that, ARPU in the category had fallen for two consecutive quarters to a low of Rs 166.2 in Q1.
