Voice and SMS-related telecom revenue fell by 80% and 94%, respectively, during a ten-year period

Over the previous ten years, telecom operators have seen a huge loss in their income share from voice calls and SMS, with a drop of almost 80% in voice calls and a 94% drop in SMS. The rise in popularity of internet-based calling and messaging applications might be blamed for this reduction.

However, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) study also showed that from the June 2013 quarter to the December 2022 quarter, the income share per user from data consumption had seen a phenomenal rise of over 10 times. The necessity to regulate internet calling and messaging services like Facetime, Google Meet, and WhatsApp is discussed in a recent report by the TRAI.

The use of over-the-top (OTT) apps for voice and messaging communication is growing, according to TRAI, and this has resulted in a substantial change in the income streams for telecom service providers globally. According to TRAI, the income composition for providers of wireless access services in India changed significantly between 2013 and 2022. This change highlights the increasing significance of data as a key source of income and reflects the shifting telecom sector dynamics.

The study states that from the June 2013 quarter to the December 2022 quarter, the key components of Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for telecom carriers have decreased, except data revenue share. However, during the same time span, the percentage of data-related revenue per subscriber increased significantly, rising more than 10-fold to 85.1% in the December 2022 quarter from 8.1% in the June 2013 quarter.

Although the data income share has increased, the total ARPU has only increased little, from Rs 123.77 to Rs 146.96, or by almost 41%. According to the figures in the report, voice call income has considerably decreased, now accounting for just Rs 14.79, or 10.1% of the ARPU of Rs 146.96, as opposed to Rs 72.53, or 58.6% in the June 2013 quarter.

These figures show how the revenue mix for telecom operators has significantly changed, with data being the main source of income while voice call revenue has decreased significantly. The study also discloses that the income share from SMS has decreased, from Rs 3.99 or 3.22% in the June 2013 quarter to 23 paise or 20% of the ARPU now. This decrease underlines the declining importance of SMS as a source of income for telecom providers when compared to data-based services.