Telcos revenue share from voice calls dip 80%, SMS 94%, with OTT growth in 10 years
According to a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) paper, telecom operators have witnessed a significant decline in revenue share from voice calls and SMS over the past decade. The revenue share from voice calls has dropped by approximately 80 percent, while the revenue share from SMS has declined by around 94 percent. This decline can be attributed to the increasing usage of internet-based calling and messaging apps, which have gained popularity among users.
On the other hand, the paper highlights that the revenue share per user from data usage has grown more than tenfold between the June 2013 quarter and the December 2022 quarter. This indicates a substantial increase in revenue generated from data services per user over the years.
The growth in revenue from data usage can be attributed to the widespread adoption of smartphones, the expansion of high-speed mobile networks, and the increasing demand for data-intensive services such as video streaming, online gaming, and social media applications. As users consume more data on their mobile devices, telecom operators have been able to capitalize on this trend and generate higher revenues from data services.
This shift in revenue dynamics reflects the changing consumer preferences and the evolving nature of the telecommunications industry. Telecom operators have had to adapt to the growing demand for data services and invest in infrastructure to support the increasing data consumption by users.