India tops data usage per person at least cost; 5G coverage in over 99% districts

India leads in mobile data consumption per subscriber and offers the most affordable data rates in the world, the Economic Survey said on Friday.

It added that there has also been a paradigm shift in India's telecom technology space that underscores an ongoing effective transition from "technology importer" to "technology developer and exporter".

The survey pegged India's average wireless data usage per user per month at 21.2 GB as of September for the 2024-25 financial year (FY25), and said the country's achievement of the fastest 5G rollout globally underlined its tech prowess in the telecom sector.

"India's telecom sector is expanding with the smartphone boom, surging data consumption, and the advent of technologies like 5G. India stands as the second-largest telecommunications market, with over 1.18 billion telephone subscribers, an overall teledensity of 84%, and 941 million broadband users as of 31st October, 2024," the survey said.

It added that in 'telecommunications, computer & information services', India commands 10.2% of global exports market (ranking as the second-largest exporter in the world), reflecting its strong position in IT outsourcing, software development and digital services.

It, though, said demand elasticity in the post & telecoms sector remained low at 0.32 compared to say 1.86 for the financial sector. This, it said, implied that the post & telecoms sector had reached a high degree of market saturation over the past three decades.

"The oligopolistic nature of the industry may also imply that increases in labour productivity may come with lower costs, which would translate to higher profit margins (and not necessarily lower prices)."

Several telecom companies in India are leveraging AI to improve their services, optimise operations and enhance customer experience. "AI improves customer support, network optimisation and predictive maintenance. AI-driven platforms (are being used) for end-to-end telecom network management."

The survey added that built on top of state-of-the-art big data architecture, AI touches upon every aspect of the network-from the core and radio to the business functions of telcos.

Further, as of October 31, 2024, 5G services had been launched in all states and union territories. "5G services are available in 779 out of 783 districts. Over 4.6 lakh 5G base transceiver stations have been installed nationwide."