Telecom giants like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea had decent earnings in the last quarter of FY24, meeting expectations. Airtel gained about 6.7 million new mobile subscribers in India, while Jio added around 10.9 million, reaching a total of 482 million users. On the other hand, Vodafone Idea lost 2.6 million subscribers.
Rising Revenue
The money each user brings in, known as Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), keeps going up, mainly because more people are switching from 2G to 4G and there are more postpaid users. Airtel’s ARPU stayed strong at ₹209, while Jio’s remained flat at ₹182, and Vodafone Idea’s was at ₹146.
Since some changes in telecom rules in September 2021 and tariff increases in 2019 and 2021, things have been more stable. Analysts believe there will be another price increase for prepaid plans after the current elections.
Adding to this, 5G is being rolled out in more areas. Both Airtel and Jio are expanding their coverage, with Jio having more subscribers using 5G. However, figuring out how to make money from 5G is still a work in progress.
Indus Towers, which provides the infrastructure for these networks, is also doing well, especially with the demand for 5G. They are expected to sort out their financial issues soon.
For investors, Centrum Broking suggests buying Bharti Airtel stocks and recommends selling Vodafone Idea stocks. They also suggest investing in Indus Towers.
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