'Gross revenue of Indian telcos to reach $46-49 bn by 2020'

With increasing contribution from data, the overall revenue of Indian telecom operators is expected to reach USD 46-49 billion by 2020, Swedish equipment maker Ericsson said today.
"The industry's overall gross revenues are expected to increase from USD 28 billion in 2013 to USD 46-49 billion in 2020," Ericsson said in its white paper, 'India 2020: Bringing the Networked Society to Life'.
The company said the revenue mix of Indian operators is expected to evolve to include a higher contribution from data- driven 3G and 4G services.
"Data revenues will represent an increasing proportion of the total, and are expected to rise from 10-12 per cent in 2013 to 35-40 per cent by 2020, driven by a growth in data subscribers as well as usage per subscriber," it said.

Other revenue from SMS, traditional value added services and new services is expected to remain stable at USD 2 billion over 2013-2020, it added.
"Smartphone prices are expected to fall by 40-50 per cent over the next three years. As a result, the number of subscribers able to afford smartphones and services are expected to reach over 700 million by 2020, up from 110 million in 2013," Ericsson said.

The number of mobile broadband subscribers is expected to grow from 70 million in 2013 to 600 million subscribers in 2020 with 20 per cent of the mobile broadband subscriptions expected to be 4G in 2020.

The white paper stated that to fulfil the government's vision for broadband-inspired growth, operators will need access to more spectrum from the government and will themselves need to build new network capabilities and new revenue models so that a viable, long-term strategy can be evolved.
"Heterogeneous networks with a mix of macro cell sites, small cells and Wi-Fi hotspots will be fundamental to manage coverage, capacity and quality of performance for users," the firm said.
Ericsson said the increasing number of subscribers, the growing affordability of smartphones and the government initiatives such as the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) will drive internet connectivity in India.

"Broadband has the potential to help bring about inclusive growth in India by extending education, healthcare and financial inclusion to rural areas and lower income groups," Ericsson India Head Chris Houghton said.