Data is the new oil, according to Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani. Jio Infocomm, which flourished on cheap data, endorses this notion. Jio’s logo may be a mirror representation of “oil.”
Since the internet controls transportation, homes, industry, education, and governance, data is crucial. Data now outweighs voice in telecom revenue. Telecom corporations have lost voice income to data-driven communication apps. Due to internet-based calling and messaging apps, telecom providers’ income share from voice calls has dropped by 80% and SMS by 94% over the past decade.
Between the June 2013 quarter and December 2022 quarter, data use income per user increased more than tenfold, while other components of average revenue per user fell. A new Trai report reveals that telecom service providers worldwide are shifting from voice and SMS revenues to data.
Within a decade, data superseded voice and SMS as the main communications services. Internet services, notably broadband, have grown in India since 2012. Broadband customers have risen 55 times from 15 million in December 2012 to 832 million in December 2022. The Indian broadband user base grew 49% throughout this period.
