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India is no longer the cheapest country for telecom services when compared globally, as Bangladesh and Egypt now offer lower base plan tariffs, according to a report by ICICI Securities.
The report highlighted that while India has moved up in terms of affordability rankings, it continues to offer one of the most generous service allowances among peer countries, particularly for voice services. In India, telecom operators provide unlimited voice calling even at the base plan level, whereas in Bangladesh and Egypt, users get only 100 and 70 minutes respectively. The report stated "From an affordability perspective, India is not the cheapest tariff country for telecom services any more" Further, the report pointed out that with an additional Rs 100, Indian telecom operators offer 26 GB of extra data, translating to a cost of just Rs 4 per GB. This, the report noted, continues to make India one of the most data-affordable countries in the world. Interestingly, Indonesia is the only other country that offers a base plan at a level comparable to India. In most other nations, the base plan price is almost double that of India's. Even when evaluated on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis, India's telecom tariffs remain among the most affordable globally. The report mentioned that when compared with China, India's base plan remains 21 per cent cheaper in cost. However, despite this cost advantage, the report pointed out that China's service allowances for both voice and data are significantly lower than India's. It also added that if the same analysis were done for smartphone plans, which typically include higher data limits, India would appear even more affordable relative to its peers. On the revenue front, the report noted that the average revenue per user (ARPU) for Indian telecom companies, based on consumer spending, has increased by 13.5 per cent between FY19 and FY25. This rise, the report stated, is significantly faster than inflation and hence, may not be sustainable in the long term. However, over a longer horizon of 10 years, ARPU has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4 per cent, which is still below the rate of inflation, despite consolidation within the telecom industry. (ANI)
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