43% of Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio smartphone users have shifted to 5G

43% of total smartphone users of Reliance Jio and Airtel have already jumped on the bandwagon

India’s shift to 5G has far outpaced expectations of experts, with 43 per cent of the total smartphone subscriber base of Reliance Jio and Airtel collectively shifting on to the new technology, according to government and company data till the end of the fourth quarter of financial year 2024-25 (Q4FY25). The 5G penetration of the two telcos was pegged at only 29 per cent of the total smartphone subscriber base in Q1FY25.

 

The growth in numbers has been phenomenal — as many as 326 million smartphone subscribers are already on 5G for the two telcos, compared to 220 million in Q1FY25. Airtel now has half of its 272.8 million smartphone subscribers (it has a larger sub-base if one includes 2G customers) on 5G by end of Q4FY25. In the case of Reliance Jio, which has a larger subscriber base of 488 million in the same period, the share has touched 40 per cent.

 

The total Indian mobile subscriber base in the country is much larger, pegged at 1.15 billion (including 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G) but the other two competing telcos — Vodafone-Idea (Vi) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) — do not have any 5G offering for their customers. Only a few days ago, Vi has launched limited 5G services in metros like Delhi and Mumbai, among others. As regards BSNL, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that it would start rolling out 5G services sometime in June, even though it still is in the process of offering 4G. These two players have a subscriber base of around 296 million. 

 

In the case of Airtel, the company has seen nearly 50 per cent growth in its 5G subscribers in the last 12 months, from only 90 million in Q1FY25 to 135 million in Q4FY25. For Reliance Jio, it has been an increase of 47 per cent in the same period, from 130 million to 191 million.

 

However, upgradation to a new technology has not always led to a substantial increase in average revenue per user (ARPU). That is because use cases are still not clearly defined for subscribers to fork out more. Also, telcos do not charge for a 5G service as long as subscribers have a valid 4G plan. Last June, however, telcos increased overall tariff by 20 per cent, which has helped in increasing ARPU. Reliance Jio’s ARPU is now at ₹206 compared to 180 last June quarter. And Airtel is slowly inching upwards with and ARPU of ₹245 in Q4FY25.

 

Analysts, however, have varying projections on India’s 5G penetration. Nokia projects it would hit 770 million by 2028 while Ericsson sees an aggressive growth in 5G, saying it would hit 970 million subscriptions by 2030 or as much as 74 per cent of all mobile connections.