Mobile data service revenue in India is expected to rise from US$6.3bn in 2020 to US$12.5bn in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% driven by continued rise in smartphone subscriptions and the subsequent surge in mobile data consumption, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s India Mobile Broadband Forecast reveals that mobile Internet subscription penetration will increase from an estimated 47.3% in 2020 to 81.4% by the end of 2025 owing to heavy investment in telecom network development across remote areas in the country.

The average monthly data usage is forecast to increase from 9.2 GB in 2020 to about 14.7 GB in 2025 accelerated by the increase in the consumption of bandwidth heavy services like mobile video and social media on mobile network.

Kantipudi Pradeepthi, Research Analyst of Telecoms Market Data & Intelligence at GlobalData, comments: “4G will remain the leading technology in terms of subscriptions in India through the forecast period while 2G will see its subscription share fall from 36.5% in 2020 to 3.5% by year end 2025. Moreover, Airtel & Vodafone Idea plan to shutdown 3G services and use the infrastructure to improve 4G connectivity.

“Relaince Jio led the mobile services market in India in terms of mobile subscriptions in 2020, followed by Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Relaince Jio will retain its leading position through 2025, driven by its continous expansion of 4G network and promotional discount offers.”