Sectoral Analysis (Telecom Sector) - January '22

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The Telecom industry in India being the second largest in the world has witnessed exponential growth over the last few years due to lower tariffs, better standard of living, better connectivity and more 3G- 4G coverage. Efforts are also underway to develop a foundational network for 5G technology deployment in India.

The teledensity of the rural market, which is largely untapped has increased to 59.48% while the overall teledensity of India has reached 87.26%. India being highly populated is a blessing for this sector, as more the number of people, the more will be the subscribers of the services.

Although there is immense competition in this sector, it is primarily headed by two major players, Airtel and Jio. Having said that the particular year that is 2021 served well for the government as Vodafone Idea agreed to pay a part of their dues in terms of equity which reduces their liability a lot. Having said that this sector is very different in terms of their marketing to other sectors. Here every competitor has to keep similar prices to stay in the market or launch something extremely different.

This sector also experiences large FDI inflows and contributes in large number in terms of employment for the economy. The sector is also expected to contribute 8% to India’s GDP in 2022 from ~6.5% currently and also grow at an exponential rate after the introduction of the 5G spectrum.

SENIOR TEAM MEMBERS:

ADITYA AGARWAL

ANURAG KUMAR THAKUR

SANYAM JAIN

SATYAM GOYAL

SURAJ AGARWAL

AVNI DHINGRA

SAURABH AGGARWAL

VIDHI MUNDHRA

JUNIOR TEAM MEMBERS:

AANCHAL CHOWDHURY

ADITI PATHAK

NAVAL MITTAL

PARIDHI JAIN

SHRUTI GUPTA

VIVEK BANSAL

DEEPALI SINGH BAGHEL

PRATIK RATHI

YUGADHYA MATHURIA

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

1

EVOLUTION

2

REVENUE DRIVERS

3

GROWTH DRIVERS

4

VALUE CHAIN

5-6

MARKETING ACTIVITIES

7-8

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

9-10

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

11

AGR CRISIS

12-14

AIRTEL-JIO DUOPOLY

15

RECENT EVENTS

16

EMERGING TRENDS

17-18

ROAD AHEAD

19

INTERESTING FACTS

20

INTRODUCTION India is currently the world's second-largest telecommunications market, with 1.17 billion subscribers, and has rapidly expanded over the last decade. According to a report developed by the GSM Association (GSMA) in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, India's mobile economy is fast increasing and will contribute significantly to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (BCG).

In 2019, India overtook the United States as the second-largest market for app downloads.

Telecommunications has long been associated with telephony or the transmission of voice signals. Data communications and video networks developed in different ways. On the other hand, today's telecommunications is characterized by "digital convergence," in which the distinctions between voice, data, and video networks are becoming increasingly blurred. Customers desire seamless access to a wide range of voice, internet, and video services at an affordable price.

The government of India's liberal and reformist policies and strong consumer demand have aided in the rapid growth of the Indian telecom sector. The government has provided easy market access to telecom equipment and a fair and proactive regulatory environment to ensure that consumers may get telecom services at reasonable pricing.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) norms have been deregulated, making the industry one of the fastest expanding and top five job creators in the country.

Significant developments in policy, technology, and customer demand are shaping the telecommunications business.

Fixed Service Providers (FSPs) and Cellular Services are the two segments of the Indian telecom industry. Basic services, national or domestic long-distance, and international longdistance services are available in India. The stateowned companies (BSNL and MTNL) account for nearly all of the revenue from basic services. On the other hand, private services cater to the business/corporate sector and provide dependable, high-end services, including leased lines, ISDN, closed user groups, and videoconferencing.

1

EVOLUTION 1882 – Manual Telephone exchange was set up, After March 2000 Govt started to give licenses to and Here Telecom services were first started in more private operators and reduced the license India fees.

Phase 1 – State-owned till 1990 Manual Telephone exchange was setup 1985 – DoT (Department of Telecom was separated from Indian post and telecommunication department) DoT was responsible for the entire nation's telecom services till 1986

Phase 3 - is divided into two parts, i.e., 2000-2010, called the golden era, where growth happened phenomenally. 2G gives rise to mobile users, and Mobile users quickly crossed the number of fixed wire telecom users.

Phase 2 – Advent of private players Government 2008 – Launch of 3G, which paved the way for the introduced NTP (National Telecom Policy in 1994). launch of smartphones.

1995 – Cellular services were first launched in Kolkata.

2012 –Launching 4G, people started sending videos and pictures through just a few screen 1997- TRAI was set up to provide a fair touches. Data usage boom occurs. Demand for environment for Customers and operators good quality services and fast internet services with minimum latency is demanded by many users.

2000 – TDSAT was introduced.

2016 – Jio entered and completely disrupted In the same period, telecom companies brought in everything. More than ten telecom companies left various innovations like prepaid, which brought the space, and giants like Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea down the cost, making mobiles more accessible to struggled. Vodafone Idea combined to form Vi to familiar Indians. stay afloat.

2

REVENUE DRIVERS Economic Cycles Economic cycles affect all businesses, and they are important international drivers of the telecommunications industry. Economic cycles can have both beneficial and negative effects on any industry. The telecoms industry is increasingly susceptible to these cycles due to its massive scale of operations and growing cross-border presence.

The telecoms industry has proven its resilience in downturns and moments of market uncertainty throughout its history. This has been the case in the recent past. The industry is surviving the economic downturn rather well. Despite this generally positive outlook, there are differing viewpoints on how the sector will develop.

Consumer Demand and Changing Mindset Increased customer demand and shifting consumer tastes are another important revenue driver in the industry. Operators must comprehend and respond to rapidly changing customer expectations and behaviours, especially as global technology brands become more prominent in consumers' minds and technology cycles shorten. This will necessitate operators properly communicating the network's core value as well as the sources of added value that distinguish their services in new service areas.

The use of numerous devices by a single person is becoming more common. In addition, the period it takes for new technologies to get widespread adoption is fast decreasing, from 15 years for mobile phones to 4 years for smartphones and tablets. Traditional telephone service, or landlines, is losing in popularity, while the number of cellular customers continues to rise. As a slew of new

service providers emerge from the technology and telecoms sectors, the need to stand out is critical.

Technological Innovation & Business Intelligence Operators and telecom players require more accurate, timely, and comprehensive business data and customer analytics to drive successful customer propositions and enhance their time-tomarket for new creative goods and services. They also require billing and operational support systems that are integrated. These features pave the path for efficient expansion by allowing operators to generate superior business analytics for decision-making, understand customer trends ahead of their competition, and reuse network data in collaborative partnerships. Better data can also assist operators in lowering operating costs and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Companies are heavily investing in innovation, technological development, and infrastructure development, resulting in increased business activity and consumer spending driven by new value-added products and services. Differentiation will be crucial in the future, when consumers will have more options due to increased competition among carriers.

3

GROWTH DRIVERS Rising Income and growing young population

manufacture and certain electronic Due to higher disposable income and chaging components, such as Assembly, Testing, lifestyle there is increase in minutes of use(MOU) Marking, and Packaging units. and data usage will be major driving force for growth in the telecom sector.

Incomes have risen at a brisk pace in India and will continue rising given the country’s strong economic growth prospects. The emergence of an affluent middle class is triggering demand for the mobile and internet segments.

Growing Mobile Ecosystem

CSPs can benefit significantly from a rising mobile ecosystem, which includes the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT). According to Gartner, the number of connected items in use this year will be 14.2 billion, with a projected increase to 25 billion by 2021. A complex web of partners and service Key Policy Support providers will enable many of these connected FDI in telecom sector has been increased to 100% things, opening up new risks such as fraud and from 74%. In October 2021, the government revenue leakage. notified 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) via the automatic route from previous 49% in the telecommunications sector. FDI of up to 100% is permitted for infrastructure providers offering dark fibre, electronic mail and voice mail.

Make in India To stimulate local production of mobile devices, the Indian government created the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP). This project will aid in the development of a strong indigenous mobile manufacturing ecosystem in India, as well as encourage large-scale production.

HFCL Limited delivered 100,000 Wi-Fi systems in a record time, claiming that Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (WANI) in conjunction with the government's ambitious BharatNet plan would boost broadband uptake in rural India.

The production-linked incentive (PLI) plan provides an incentive to stimulate domestic manufacturing and attract substantial investments in mobile phone

Rising Startup Ecosystem : Telco and ValueAdded Services All aspects of the political, economic, social, and technological spectrum are exerting enormous pressure on the telecom business, as they do on other companies. Several start-ups are overcoming these challenges by combining existing and newer modes of communication to develop ideal solutions with improved connectivity.

4

VALUE CHAIN The value chain is one way of analyzing an industry regarding the value-adding potential and the proposition. This further incorporates the different activities being carried out in the industry. The telecom operations industry value chain gives a complete overview of services for the telecommunications business's wireline, wireless, cable, and satellite components.

The rapid pace of change in the telecommunications business is a topic that all stakeholders in the industry are concerned about. It's never been more exciting to examine the various dynamics at work in the industry. The key stakeholders in the telecommunication value chain include: • Telecommunication product and equipment manufacturers • Telecommunication service providers • Customers • Regulators

Different channels which facilitate telecom companies in communication with end-users include retail chains, internet, own physical stores, sales and marketing team, Mobile apps, websites, social media, etc.

Telecom firms have their retail storefronts to sell their services to clients and provide customer care.

The sales force is also a crucial avenue for marketing and selling telecom products and services and giving clients a user-friendly and straightforward manner to get assistance and manage their accounts.

Retailers, distributors, third-party service providers, dealers, and other indirect distribution channels are also crucial for telecom firms.

The following specialized value chain functions are included in industry-specific processes: • Network services are procedures for constructing, deploying, operating and optimizing physical networks for wireline, wireless, cable, and satellite.

• Fulfilment processes govern ordering and provisioning telecom products and services.

• Maintenance and support—Provide proactive and reactive assurance services to guarantee telecom goods and services are available • Billing and payments—Processes for collecting, producing, auditing, delivering, supporting, and processing invoices and payments for telecommunications products and services.

5

VALUE CHAIN The major activities of telecom businesses include voice, data provision, messaging, and internet service providing.

• Voice telecommunication, often known as telephony communication services are provided by several telecom service providers utilising their own network infrastructure or the network infrastructure of a network operator.

• Data provision: This refers to all multimedia content transmission between various parties, such as applications, services, and end-users. Telecom firms provide a variety of goods and services to help clients gain access to more data services. A few of these services are concerned with facilitating access to music, the internet, television, and video games.

• Another important service provided by telecom providers is messaging, which includes both SMS and MMS. MMS refers for multimedia messaging service while SMS is for short message service. Customers may send and receive multimedia messages in the form of music, images, videos, sound, and text via the MMS service.

• Broadband services: Broadband internet connection services are also provided by telecom companies.

And lastly, Telecom firms create and strengthen client relationships by offering a package of services, as well as more appealing data plans. Regularly investing in network upgrades also allows them to provide far better customer care. Telecom businesses' sales teams are accessible in-store or over the phone to answer questions about their services. Customers may also use their website and mobile app to get services. Social media platforms like as Facebook, Twitter, and others allow customers to communicate with them other. Telecom firms normally have a dedicated help and support area on their website to assist clients with their problems and questions.

6

MARKETING ACTIVITIES The formulation of marketing mix for telecommunication goes over the various submixes, such as the product mix, which covers the design of a quality services profile, the promotion mix, which has more creativity and sensitivity, the tariff policy, which allows for the design of a sound tariff structure, the place mix, which addresses the problem of processing services with the goal of bridging the gap between services promised and services offered, and the people mix, which aims to strike a balance between performance-orientation and people-orientation.

Majority of the marketing mix focuses on innovative promotional tactics that assist telecom companies in educating, sensing, and influencing their customers. Various aspects of promotion, such as advertising publicity sales promotion personal selling word-of-mouth promotion Other Marketing Strategies Employed Email Marketing Online Marketing Relationship Marketing Refferal Marketing CTA (Call of Action) Marketing Outdoor Marketing Freebie Marketing

7

MARKETING ACTIVITIES Reliance Jio focuses on pricing strategy by offering the finest and cheapest Internet data services, hence their target demographic was SmartPhone users searching for high-speed internet access. Jio also has an excellent digital presence on different platforms.

Different marketing campaigns of Jio-

Reaching 20 million prospective customers in 20 weeks, by "Digital India, Home Delivered" campaign

Using the Thunderclap tool, "Jio Cheers Cricket" campaign reached massive audience.

Making the best use of Mobile Marketing with "Jio Cricket Play Along" campaign, Jio achieved great customer engagement. Overall With more than 24.8 million organic reach More than 35,000 messages cross platforms

Airtel mainly targets people in the age group of 15-25 and elderlies by using different campaigns. Also it targets the young, urban, social people and low-income mass category as well.

With “ Hunger to win customers for life” as its mission, airtel has launched various prominent marketing campaigns and ads.

Jingles like “ Har Ek friend Jaruri Hota hai”, “Jo Tera hai, Wo Mera hai” for Gen Z have worked brilliantly for them while taglines like “one-touch Internet”, "Don't Just choose us. Join us." attract Gen X and elders.

8

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM LIMITED Total Broadband Subscribers: 446.68 million Wireline Subscriber Base: 4.64 million Market Share of Broadband Services: 53.94%

VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED Total Broadband Subscribers: 123.97 million Wireline Subscriber Base: 0.56 million Market Share of Broadband Services: 15.39%

BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED Total Broadband Subscribers: 201.77 million Wireline Subscriber Base: 5.29 million Market Share of Broadband Services: 26.08%

BHARAT SANCHAR NIGAM LIMITED Total Broadband Subscribers: 24.26 million Wireline Subscriber Base: 7.83 million Market Share of Broadband Services: 3.04%

9

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE COMPANY

OWNERSHIP

PRESENCE

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN INIDA IN THIS SECTOR: TARGET

ACQUIRER

PRICE (US $ MILLION)

DIVISION

10

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has created a sixth-generation (6G) innovation group to help push the development of 6G technologies.

Mr. K. Rajaraman, the Telecom Secretary, inaugurated the Quantum Communication Lab at the Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT) in Delhi in October 2021 and showcased the C-DOT-developed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solution. On standard optical fibre, QKD can sustain a distance of >100 kilometres.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) officials indicated in August 2021 that they are working on a package that includes lowering the revenue sharing licence fee from 8% to 6% of the operators' adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

This would be accomplished by reducing the 5% universal service obligation charge by two percentage points and providing operators with annual relief of around Rs. 3,000 crore (US$ 403.63 million).

On behalf of the Department of Telecommunication, Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) issued a global tender in July 2021 to develop BharatNet using the PublicPrivate Partnership model in 9 separate packages throughout 16 states for a 30-year concession period. As for viability gap funding, the government will provide a maximum grant of Rs. 19,041 crore under this project.

The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, worth Rs. 12,195 crore (US$ 1.65 billion) is estimated to attract investment of roughly Rs. 3,000 crore (US$ 400.08 million) and create a large number of direct and indirect jobs.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) began talks with banks in August 2021 to address financial hardship in the telecom sector, particularly Vodafone Idea Ltd. (VIL), which is in desperate need of cash.

The Department of Telecommunications has been granted Rs. 58,737.00 crore (US$ 8 billion) for the fiscal year 2021-22. Revenue spending receives 56 per cent of the allocation, while capital expenditure receives 44 per cent.

The government allocated Rs. 14,200 crore (US$ 1.9 billion) for telecom infrastructure in the Union Budget 2021-22, which includes the completion of an optical fibre cable-based network for Defense services, the rollout of broadband in 2.2 lakh panchayats, and the improvement of mobile services in the North East.

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THE AGR CRISIS With a subscriber base of 1.18 billion (as of September 2021), India has grown to become the world's second-largest telecommunications market, registering a solid sector growth in the last decade.

The previous two decades, in particular, have witnessed a growth upheaval for the industry in terms of birth, ascendency, and dominance of private-sector competitors. In particular, an increase in wireless user base, teledensity in rural India, and Internet subscription base across the country have defined the potential demand growth of the telecom sector. This can be attributed to the policies of GoI in parallel to the strong consumer demand.

The dropping average revenue per user (ARPU) in the mobile telephony segment and the declining average cost per subscriber per GB of data were symptoms of the sector's severe competition, which had led to price wars among incumbent companies.

What is AGR? While the Telcos remain the end service providers, they are bound to pay the central government license fee and spectrum charges. Before 1999, the prevalent fee-sharing mechanism was a 'fixed license fee.' However, the model has now been shifted to 'revenue-sharing fee,' where the telcos share a percentage of revenue with the government. The revenue amount used to calculate this revenue share is termed AGR.

While the government defines AGR to be inclusive of all revenues from both the telecom and nontelecom services such as deposit interests and sale of assets, the companies have been of the opinion that AGR should comprise only of the revenue generated from the telecom services and the nontelecom revenues should be kept away.

The Slugfest Timeline The ambiguity related to AGR has been long due to many interventions over the decade. Hence, it is imperative to understand the timeline of the case: 2005: The Cellular Operators Association of India challenged the DoT's concept of AGR before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). While the Department of Transportation claims that AGR covers all revenues (before discounts) from telecom and non-telecom services, the firms contend that it should only include revenue from core telecom services.

2015: TDSAT delegated that AGR covers all revenues except capital receipts and revenue from non-telecom sources such as rent, dividend, interest, profit on the sale of fixed assets, and miscellaneous income.

In the meantime, the government continued to raise the issue of under-reporting of revenues to duck charges. The Comptroller and Auditor General The Bone of Contention of India (CAG), in a recent report, blamed the For over a decade, the two sides- government and telecom companies for "understating revenues" to the telcos have had a dispute over what constitutes the tune of Rs 61,064.5 crore.

AGR and have hence been locked in a legal battle.

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THE AGR CRISIS October 2019: The Supreme Court rejected the Telcos definition of AGR, thereby maintaining the DoT's definition, ruling that because the licensee agreed to the migration packages, they were obliged to pay the dues, penalty on dues, and interest on penalty for late payments. The companies with this ruling were exposed to the demand of approximately 1 lakh crore by the DoT, for which they were subsequently given three months to pay their AGR debts.

November 2019: Telecom corporations requested a rehearing and review of the Supreme Court's prior decision in the case.

January 2021: Bharti Airtel files a case with the Supreme Court to modify the AGR dues. The application asks for the dues calculation's arithmetic 'errors' to be corrected.

July 19, 2021: Airtel's plea is echoed by Vodafone Idea. In their appeal, the company stated that DoT's computations contained errors such as double counting, failing to account for already paid payments, failing to adjust for interconnecting fees, and so on. It stated that the extra demand resulting from these inaccuracies amounts to Rs 5,932 crore of the initial amount, with an overall impact of over four times the total principal amount due to interest, penalty, and interest on the penalty. The Supreme Court has deferred judgment in the case, requesting a response from the Central Government in the Telecom companies' complaint citing mistakes in calculating AGR dues.

January 2020: The plea for rehearing the case, spearheaded by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, is rejected by the highest court, with a direction to the companies to strictly adhere to the deadline of paying the dues (January 23, 2020). However, the companies fail to meet the deadline.

July 23, 2021: The Supreme Court has dismissed pleas filed by telecom giants such as Vodafone Idea February-March 2020: The companies begin self- and Bharti Airtel, challenging purported assessment of the amount payable to the irregularities in calculating Adjusted Gross government, while the government moves the top Revenue-related dues. court to allow the companies with a timeline of 20 years to clear the due.

January 2022: Vodafone Idea approves conversion of Interest & AGR To Equity July 2020: The Supreme Court rules that no The Vodafone Idea board of directors has approved adjustments to dues can be made and that the AGR deferring spectrum action payments for up to four estimate is final, affirming DoT demands of 1.56 years. Interest on spectrum auction installments lakh crore. and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues have also been approved for conversion to equity by the September 2020: The Supreme Court orders that board. telecom companies pay their AGR dues within ten years.

13

THE AGR CRISIS All existing shareholders, including promoters, will be diluted due to the conversion to equity. Following the conversion, the government will own approximately 35.8% of Vodafone Idea. Following the conversion of interest to equity, Vodafone will own 28.5 percent, and AB Group will own 17.8 percent. The promoters will change the shareholders' agreement (SHA) to lower the minimum qualifying criteria from 21% to 13%. The net present value of spectrum auction plus AGR interest is estimated to be around Rs 16,000 crore. Following the Department of Telecommunications certification, the equity shares will be issued to the government at a price of Rs 10 per share (DoT).

Conclusion While without second thoughts, the judiciary's ruling on not letting the TSP's absolve from their liability with respect to the outstanding AGR dues, a more holistic approach should be followed when adjudicating matters reverberating to the entire economy. The amounts realized by the Centre from these outstanding AGR dues can be effectively utilized to improve the telecom infrastructure and provide efficient services in rural and hilly regions of our country. However, the judiciary must also give due regard to other stakeholders, such as banks and other lending institutions, who pump in finance to the industry and economy and are also custodians of public money – money that belongs to the taxpayers of India.

14

AIRTEL-JIO DUOPOLY The Indian telecom industry started with a significant government presence, with BSNL and MTNL being the most prominent players in the market. The Unified Service Access License, which allowed the operators to provide a range of services through a single license, enabled other players' slow and steady entry. Due to the controversial nature of spectrum allotment in 2008, the fresh allotment was done in 2012-13. This resulted in significant financial stress and the exit of quite a few players from the market. The market became an oligopoly, with the most financially stable holding the reins.

Entry of Jio The calm waters of the industry were disrupted again with the entry of Jio, which provided 4G VOLTE services from the inception. The merger of Vodafone and Idea did give both the companies a lease of life; however, the impending payment of AGR dues created fresh trouble for the company.

This effectively created a duopoly of Airtel and Jio in the market. Smartphone penetration in India is still pegged at 42% of the population, and the cost of service for a new entrant is relatively high due to the involvement of sunk costs like spectrum payments, optical fibre costs, electronic equipment costs, etc. Additionally, the aggressive pricing tactics used by Reliance Jio of providing most services for free gave them the benefit of capturing a significant market share without advertising. They currently capture 35% of the market. They currently capture 35% of the market. It forced the other competitors to reduce their prices thereby

bleeding them until most of them bowed out of business. With 29% of the market share, Bharti Airtel was the only competitor that effectively retained its position.

Effects of duopoly Considering Vodafone-Idea remains a low threat due to its financial woes, the market is staring at an Airtel-Jio duopoly. This is expected to slow down the market's growth and lead to less innovation in the industry. The companies will be in the position to set tariff floors. We can even see the prices for prepaid plans rising even though 90% of the customers of these companies use prepaid plans.

The entry plans for both the companies have also gone up from just a year before. This would also reduce the unique offers given by the companies nowadays as neither Airtel nor Jio would risk creating a monopoly by rolling our competing offers. Without any government intervention, the customers would only lose out in the long term by creating this duopoly.

Recent turn of Events Recently, however, Vodafone -Idea has gotten a fighting chance to survive in this battle through its decision to convert its AGR interest payment into a 36% equity in the company. Effectively, the government would then own 36% of the company without participating in the executive decision making. This change might enable the industry to continue to be oligopolistic.

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RECENT EVENTS Differentiation Strategy The major players in the industry are using partnerships to expand the services offered to the customers and differentiate themselves from the other players in the market. Bharti Airtel partnered with California-based Juniper networks to develop broadband coverage. At the same time, the company tied up with Amazon Prime and Hotstar to offer a complimentary subscription to the streaming platform’s content for its customers.

Reliance Jio, on the other hand, is tied up with airlines for providing inflight internet services. Due to the price wars and similar tariff plans, the Green Telecom companies have limited opportunities to differentiate themselves. They are, therefore, trying With emerging technologies like 5G and the internet to provide innovative new services to the of things (IoT) expected to consume more energy customers. than ever, the sector must move towards the green telecom trends sooner than later. The lack of grid Investment in 5G Technologies connection to telecom tower sites and grid power outages lead to the high consumption of diesel in India is steadily and slowly moving towards the this sector. Since most sites suffer from electrical rollout of 5G technology which will offer up to 3 grid outages above 8 hours a day, diesel genset times greater spectrum efficiency and improved power is used. The cost of operating diesel genset user experience. The government has permitted the is more than the operations based on electricity, telecoms to conduct 5G trials for 6 months during but it is also one of the significant causes of the current year. It is estimated that telecom pollution. Instead, the industry can operate solarcarriers will have approximately 30% of their powered sites, reducing the cost per unit to INR 7 revenue towards initial investments in 5G compared to the present INR 13-14. In addition to infrastructure. According to Moody’s report, this exploring hybrid systems, solar, wind, and biomassinvestment will be primarily funded by internal based solutions and fuel cell systems, it is also cash. There were enough voices within the industry looking at the options of sharing model which will to reduce the spectrum prices as the companies allow the tower sites to host network components already have acute financial stress and debt-laden. of various telecom service providers.

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EMERGING TRENDS The telecom industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, development, and new prospects, such as VoIP technology, AI-powered conversational platforms, cloud-based, and open technologies, that make it a highly competitive market for everyone.

In this article, we'll go through our in-depth knowledge of a few top trends that impact around 75 % of the overall telecom industry.

Treemap showing top industry trends and their impact

1. Internet Of Things IoT devices and sensors impact nearly every industry in the technology economy. It raises people's quality of life, increases profitability for enterprises, and improves management.

Governments trying to cut their information technology (IT) costs can also benefit from IoT. The interconnection of devices, sensors, infrastructure, and computing elements opens up new management possibilities.

Decentralised operations, condition-based monitoring, and predictive maintenance, for example, ensure that IoT devices communicate efficiently. IoT automates production processes and enables Industry 4.0 concepts to be implemented in the telecom sector in this way.

N3uron, a Spanish startup, creates highly customisable Industrial IoT and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software to help businesses collect data more efficiently. One of the startup's many integrated software modules, MQTT connects thousands of field devices to any cloud or SCADA system via specific data-transfer protocols.

N3uron software runs without compromising performance on various operating systems and hardware. Furthermore, the software's networking security and data integrity checks adhere to industry data format requirements. This makes it easier for businesses to build and manage IIoT device networks.

2. Connectivity Technologies Both wired and wireless communication technologies are constantly evolving in the field of connectivity.

Communications technology development is crucial in today's IT environment with increased data volumes, IoT devices, and individuals accessing the internet. Furthermore, high-quality digital material, such as films, photographs, and music, is widely shared by users.

All of these reasons and the growing usage of satellite communications play a role in the emerging telecom trends of connectivity technology innovation.

FiSens is a German company that makes Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) sensors for strain,

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EMERGING TRENDS temperature, and pressure measurement. The firm uses the FBG effect, which allows data transmission chains to be formed without breaking fibre optics.

FiSens embeds sensors in fibre optics, allowing up to 30 sensors to be contained within a single fibre.

The startup's FBGs cover almost all potential spectral configurations. These sensors are also resistant to electromagnetic interference and can be used in areas with radiation or explosions.

3. 5G Network and Technology The next significant improvement for telecommunication networks and gadgets is 5G technology. It offers significantly faster speeds than earlier cellular broadband network standards and substantially lower latency. Latency is crucial when it comes to cloud gaming and VR content streaming. Massive machine-type communications (mMTC) enabled by 5G networks allow the establishment of high-density IoT networks, ranging from IIoT to smart homes. 5G is one of the most important forthcoming technology trends in the telecommunications sector because of its wideranging uses.

Aarna Networks, based in the United States, offers AMCOP, a multi-cluster orchestration platform.

AMCOP handles cloud infrastructure and linked networks, such as Edge networks, automatically.

AMCOP provides network slicing, data analytics, and self-organizing networks, as well as 5G radio access networks (RAN) and 5G Core (5GC) orchestration (SON). Additionally, AMCOP is based on open-source software that is vendor-agnostic, allowing enterprises to save network infrastructure costs while still increasing security.

4. Artificial Intelligence Other major telecom trends affecting the sector include artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The extraction of useful information from data collected by IoT sensors and devices is required for digital transformation. At the same time, the internet's growth and complexity necessitate high speeds and low latencies, necessitating new internet connection management solutions. To this purpose, startups create AI solutions that address various network performance issues.

NetOp is an Israeli firm developing a network health utility tool based on proprietary machine learning methods. The solution examines the network in real-time, looking for any vulnerabilities. NetOp proactively predicts and remediates network issues as they happen using AI-powered advanced automation, which is advantageous for enterprises looking to increase security and lower operational expenses.

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ROAD AHEAD The Indian telecom sector is booming with opportunities and has seen a tremendous transformation since 2014 due to the liberalization of policies, increased competition and innovative business models, and is expected to continue its momentum with the advancement of telecom infrastructure, government initiatives such as Digital India, rising penetration of smartphones and connectivity, offering immense growth potential.

The increase in mobile network coverage and availability is expected to significantly transform the industry. According to the Indian telecom regulator, there has been an increase of 44 per cent in wireless broadband connections — from 367 million at the end of March 2016 to 549 million

by March 2018. The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,118.8 million in March 2016 to 1,236.6 million by March 2018, 8.2 percent. According to a report by BCG, the Indian telecom sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17 percent and reach a size of Rs 6.5 trillion by 2025. This will be driven by the growth in data consumption, which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28 percent. The report also highlighted that the telecom sector will create 30 million jobs by 2025.

The growth of the telecom sector can be attributed to various factors such as increasing urbanization, rising income levels and affordable data plans. The advancement of telecom infrastructures, such as 5G and the roll-out of BharatNet, will play a significant role in the growth of the telecom sector.

The 5G technology is expected to provide users with a high-speed and low-latency broadband Digital India experience.

The government’s flagship program, Digital India, is also expected to play a significant role in the According to a report by the Telecom Regulatory growth of the telecom sector. The program aims to Authority of India (TRAI), the sector has registered provide internet connectivity to rural areas and a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5 improve broadband speed in urban areas. It hopes per cent in terms of service revenue from 2012-13 to bridge the gap in digital infrastructure between to 2016-17. It has also created 13 million new jobs urban and rural India. Under the program, various directly and indirectly. It is further expected to schemes such as BharatNet, e-Bharat app, BHIM generate around 4 million direct jobs by 2022, 60 app and Sagarmala will be introduced in a bid to per cent of the total employment generation in the bolster telecom infrastructure across the country.

IT industry. The report by TRAI also highlights that BharatNet is expected to provide broadband the average revenue per user (ARPU) for telecom connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats by March service providers decreased from Rs 153 in March 2019 through an optic-fibre network at a minimum 2016 to Rs 137 in March 2017. The decline has speed of 100 Mbps. Sagarmala, on the other hand, been primarily attributed to various service aims to improve coastal connectivity and has providers' introduction of low-cost data services. already implemented projects worth Rs 3,300 crore in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

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INTERESTING FACTS The First Commercial Mobile Phone!

The world's first mobile phone call was made in 1973 by Motorola employee Martin Cooper from the streets of New York City. He called his biggest rival.

If it’s tasty it’s not worth buying!

Fake Plastic Trees!

In urban area, engineers have developed ways to install equipments into signs, clocks, telephone poles, church and cathedral roofs and as well as weather vanes, which look like camouflaged towers often disguised as trees.

We are sure that you are unaware of this telecommunication fact, that telephonic wires were ranked, according to how tasty they were to rats and mice.

Telephones with the least tasty wire were the most preferred as they ensured the safety of the telephone wires.

Fiber Optics and VoIP International calls rarely travel via satellite anymore. Instead, most are sent over fiber optics and VoIP.

Ahoy not hello!

AHOY! This is exactly what Graham Bell wanted the telephone greeting to be. It was Thomas Alva Edison who later gave the word “hello” in 1877, and it is not surprising that it immediately became the more acceptable telephonic greeting.

Telephonophobia!

Mental health of users has always been affected by the use of telephones. The users have witnessed the fear of telephones called the telephonophobia, making them reluctant or fearful of taking or making phone calls.

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REFERENCES While compiling this sectoral analysis, we have taken references from the following sources: IBEF Report on Telecom Industry https://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx# India Today Article https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/jio-adds-maximum-wireless-subscribers-in-julybsnl-leads-in-adding-wired-broadband-customers-as-per-trai-1856711-2021-09-24 AT Kearney Report https://www.es.kearney.com/communications-media-technology/

The AGR Crisis www.indianexpress.com www.livemint.com www.financialexpress.com www.businessstandard.com www.barandbench.com Fun Facts https://myoperator.com/blog/10-interesting-telecommunication-facts-to-stun-you https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/slide-shows/here-are-some-fascinating-facts-abouttelecom-industry-and-mobile-phones/51585092

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