IPL firms up Telcos’ data cover drive...Who’ll score more?

Telecom companies are likely to see 8-10% rise in data traffic consumption as cricket fans glue eyeballs to the Indian Premier League (IPL) being streamed for free. Meanwhile, SMS/voice call activity may also record a 15-20% growth this April-June quarter as political parties take to the traditional telecom channels for election campaigning.

Data usage per subscriber per month which stood at 21GB in December 2023, is likely to go up to 25-27GB in April-June, also factoring in previous months growth, an analyst estimated. But when it comes to revenue conversion, India’s number two telco Bharti Airtel is likely to pip rivals Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea to record 2-3% growth, he added.

“If you observe last year’s IPL season, Airtel was the only player to show a meaningful uptick in average revenue per user (ARPU), despite Jio recording larger data consumption,” said Rohan Dhamija, head, India and the Middle East, Analysys Mason.

This is simply because the consumption remained within the daily allowance that most packs offer currently, he said.