The near duopoly in telecom services continued in financial year 2024-25, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel leading the market and the third private operator, Vodafone Idea (Vi), lagging far behind. Meanwhile, the government remains undecided about the way forward for the PSUs, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited.
Jio and Airtel have rolled out 5G as well as fibre-based services, while Vi is still struggling to shore up its 4G networks and has only recently started rolling out 5G. Meanwhile, BSNL has started offering fibre-based broadband and rolling out 4G.
A dip in competitive intensity has allowed Jio, Airtel and Vi to make calibrated tariff hikes that have raised their average revenue per user (ARPU). The next phase for the industry will be the roll-out of satellite broadband services to connect remote and difficult terrain. Both Jio and Airtel have tied up with SpaceX and other satellite operators, although the specifics of their offerings are yet to be defined.
Subscriber growth has slowed down, with most urban and many semi-urban markets nearing saturation in terms of penetration (excluding mountainous and forested areas where satellite services may be useful). Rather than seeking brand new subscribers, telecom operators are persuading existing subscribers to port out, upgrade connections and consume more data. Airtel and Vi are also seeking new revenue streams, hoping to leverage the advantages of 5G to focus on enterprise services.
Jio and Bharti (Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom) have released their FY2025 and fourth quarter results (Q4 FY2025). However, at the time of going to the press, Vi’s results had not been published. Before examining the results of Jio and Bharti, it is worth mentioning that the government will convert Rs 369.5 billion of Vi’s spectrum dues to equity at Rs 10 per share. Consequently, the government’s stake in Vi will increase to 49 per cent. Spectrum and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues combined, Vi has to pay Rs 186 billion during FY2026 and FY2027 each, with the moratorium due to end in September 2025. However, the company does not have the resources to meet these obligations. To service the payments, Vi will need to raise additional funds (apart from capex investments).
Jio and Airtel are both profitable. Their capex intensity appears to be easing, with the bulk of 5G roll-outs now complete. Bharti has also asked the government about the possibility of converting Rs 410 billion of its AGR dues in a manner similar to Vi’s (we have examined this in some detail in our editorial). This is not because of Bharti’s inability to meet this obligation; rather, it may believe the funds could be deployed more effectively elsewhere.
A look at the financial and operational results of the telcos during the quarter and year ended March 2025…
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel reported consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 270 billion (up 39.5 per cent year on year and 9.8 per cent quarter on quarter) on revenues of Rs 478 billion. The profit after tax (PAT) adjusted for one-offs was Rs 111.6 billion (up 146.6 per cent year on year and 54.3 per cent quarter on quarter). The PAT was inflated by a tax write-back of Rs 28.9 billion. In the previous quarter, there had been an exceptional gain of Rs 75.5 billion due to the consolidation of Indus Towers and a lower tax rate. This quarter, there was a one-off loss of Rs 1.4 billion owing to the settlement of an erstwhile subsidiary in Africa.
Revenue from the Indian mobile segment stood at Rs 266.2 billion, up 20.6 per cent year on year and 1.3 per cent quarter on quarter, with EBITDA at Rs 157 billion. There was a stable operating margin (EBITDA as a percentage of revenue) of 59.2 per cent. The ARPU remained flat quarter on quarter at Rs 245 but rose 17 per cent year on year, with a net subscriber addition of 5 million in the fourth quarter of FY2025.
Revenue from the enterprise segment declined 3 per cent year on year and 5.9 per cent quarter on quarter. However, there was a 7 per cent year-on-year and a 12.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in enterprise EBITDA. The enterprise segment delivered somewhat disappointing results, with revenue declining slightly to Rs 53.2 billion, while EBITDA stood at Rs 22.4 billion. However, margins expanded from 35.2 per cent in Q3 FY2025 to 42.1 per cent in Q4 FY2025.
Home services (fixed line + broadband) revenue was up 21 per cent year on year and 5.8 per cent quarter on quarter. Direct-to-home (DTH) revenue was flat quarter on quarter at Rs 7.6 billion, while EBITDA for DTH declined 13 per cent to Rs 3.8 billion. The ARPU for DTH rose marginally to Rs 162 (up 1.5 per cent quarter on quarter) with a net addition of 76,000 subscribers. Home services revenue grew by 5.8 per cent quarter on quarter to Rs 16 billion, with EBITDA rising 6.6 per cent to Rs 8 billion at a margin of 49.9 per cent. However, the ARPU for Q4 dipped to Rs 543 (down 2.1 per cent quarter on quarter). Net additions in the home services segment stood at 0.8 million.
Bharti holds a 56 per cent stake in Airtel Africa, which was a bright spot in Q4 FY2025. Airtel Africa’s revenue rose 23 per cent year on year and 6.3 per cent quarter on quarter to Rs 103 billion. Meanwhile, the EBITDA margin stood at 47.5 per cent. Subscriber additions slowed to 2.9 million in Q4 FY2025 from 6.5 million additions in Q3 FY2025. The ARPU was flat quarter on quarter at $2.40. Africa Airtel contributed Rs 50 billion in EBITDA.
The company reportedly prepaid Rs 59 billion of high-cost Department of Telecommunications (DoT) debt during the quarter. According to the company, the number of smartphone data customers increased by 24 million year on year and 6.6 million quarter on quarter, and now form 77 per cent of the overall mobile customer base. Bharti has signed an agreement with Starlink for satellite broadband services. Africa now contributes over 20 per cent of Bharti Airtel’s consolidated revenues and is growing much quicker than India. The Africa operations also maintain a healthy debt-equity ratio of 0.9. Bharti is seeking to increase its stake in Airtel Africa.
In India, the fibre network roll-out now covers 629 cities across the country. Capex in FY2026 is expected to be substantially lower than in FY2025 and FY2024 as the pace of rural deployment slows down. Business capex was higher in Q4 FY2025 due to investments in cloud infrastructure and data centres.
Bharti Hexacom
Bharti Hexacom offers consumer mobile, fixed line telephone and broadband services in Rajasthan and the Northeast circles under the Airtel brand. Bharti Airtel owns a 70 per cent stake in Bharti Hexacom.
Hexacom posted Q4 FY2025 revenues of Rs 22.9 billion, up 22.5 per cent year on year and 1.7 per cent quarter on quarter. Mobile services revenues were up 22 per cent year on year, primarily due to tariff hikes and smartphone customer additions.
Revenue from the homes and office segment was up 29.6 per cent year on year, led by strong customer additions of 53,000. EBITDA was reported at Rs 12.2 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 53.3 per cent. PAT before exceptional items stood at Rs 3.8 billion, up by 70.9 per cent year on year. After adjusting for exceptional items, PAT surged to Rs 4.68 billion. Over 75 per cent of the mobile subscriber base consists of 4G and 5G data customers. Mobile ARPU rose to Rs 242 in Q4 FY2025 from Rs 204 in Q4 FY2024. Hexacom prepaid Rs 8.6 billion in March 2025 towards deferred liabilities to DoT for spectrum purchased in 2024.
Reliance Jio
Understanding Jio’s financial and operational performance is more complex since Jio is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited. The parent company provides details of Jio’s performance as well as a consolidated picture of Jio Platforms Limited (JPL), which includes the homes and fixed wireless access businesses.
As of March 2025, Jio had a subscriber base of 488 million, compared to Bharti Airtel’s 365 million India subscribers during the same period. About 191 million of Jio’s subscribers were on 5G, with around 6.1 million additions during the quarter. Meanwhile, JPL’s revenue increased by 16.9 per cent year on year, driven by higher ARPUs on account of tariff revisions. Strong growth was also seen in home connections.
JPL’s EBITDA increased by 16.8 per cent year on year to Rs 170 billion, driven by revenue growth and high margins. The consolidated Q4 FY2025 revenue was Rs 398.5 billion, up 17.8 per cent year on year. ARPU also improved to Rs 206.20, reflecting the full impact of earlier tariff hikes.
During the quarter, Jio announced an agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink’s broadband internet services in India. Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating complementary areas of cooperation. During the Indian Premier League, Jio offered bundled JioHotstar subscriptions on TV and mobile for subscribers in some categories. The company also successfully managed high-density traffic during the Maha Kumbh. Further, Jio is collaborating with AMD, Cisco and Nokia to build an open telecom artificial intelligence platform.
The company’s homes business is on track to reach 100 million home connections and has maintained a high market share in net additions. The total subscriber JioHome base stands at 18 million subscribers, with 1.5 million additions during the quarter. AirFiber subscribers are currently at around 5.6 million.
Bottom line
Jio leads the market in terms of subscribers and benefits from the backing of the Reliance Group, with its vast resources and the ability to tie telecom services with retail, entertainment, etc. However, Airtel has the advantage of exposure to the fast-growing African market and higher ARPUs. For Vi to challenge this duopoly remains a tough task indeed.
Devangshu Dutta
