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Wireless data usage in India rose sharply by 24.74 per cent during 2025-26, even as the revenue earned by telecom operators per gigabyte of data declined by 10.59 per cent, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The contrasting trends show that while consumers are using significantly more mobile data, telecom operators are earning less revenue for every GB of data consumed. Total volume of wireless data usage also increased from 2,28,779 PB (petabytes) during the year 2024-25 to 2,85,376 PB during the year 2025-26 with yearly growth of 24.74 per cent, TRAI said in a report. TRAI data also showed that wireless revenue per subscriber increased during the year. Average wireless revenue per user per month rose to Rs 180.73 in 2025-26 from Rs 174.46 in 2024-25, an increase of 3.59 per cent. According to TRAI's Indian Telecom Services-Yearly Performance Indicators for 2025-26, wireless data usage increased, but at the same time, revenue realisation per GB declined to Rs 8.02 from Rs 8.97 during the year, marking a fall of 10.59 per cent. The rise in data consumption was also reflected in the number of wireless data subscribers. The subscriber base increased to 1,026.75 million in March 2026 from 939.51 million in March 2025, registering a growth of 9.29 per cent. As per data from TRAI, average wireless data usage per subscriber also increased. It rose to 25.51 GB per month in March 2026 from 21.53 GB a year earlier. Despite the decline in revenue realisation per GB, total wireless data revenue increased during the year. Data revenue rose 11.53 per cent to Rs 2,39,874 crore in 2025-26 from Rs 2,15,078 crore in 2024-25. The data trends came alongside an increase in the overall telecom subscriber base. Total telephone subscribers increased to 1,330.58 million in March 2026 from 1,200.80 million in March 2025, registering a growth of 10.81 per cent. The wireless segment, including mobile and fixed wireless access, also expanded during the year. Its subscriber base increased to 1,282.33 million from 1,163.76 million, a rise of 10.19 per cent. Mobile subscribers alone increased 9.40 per cent to 1,265.73 million from 1,156.99 million. Overall telecom revenues also increased during the year. Gross revenue rose 8.59 per cent to Rs 4,04,067 crore, while adjusted gross revenue increased 10.44 per cent to Rs 3,34,659 crore. The figures indicate that the telecom industry saw strong growth in data consumption during 2025-26, with users consuming more data even as the amount of revenue realised for each gigabyte continued to decline. (ANI)
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