Telcos operating under stress as adjusted gross revenue down by 6.4%

Even as telecom companies continue to be under stress as the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for the industry declined by 6.4 per cent YoY at the end of the December quarter, according to data released by the TRAI, on a sequential basis, one can see some improvement in the licence fee and spectrum usage charge (SUC).

Telcos pay SUC and licence fees to the DoT on the basis of their AGR. A sequential rise in these indicates the beginning of a revival in the industry.  The past few quarters have witnessed a steady rise in terms of subscriber numbers, even as the urban subscriber base has either slipped or remained stable. Average minutes of usage per subscriber per month from wireless services has risen 6.37 per cent sequentially to 667 in the quarter to December.