Airtel's 4G launch in Sep-15 has started to deliver, as seen in small uptick in data volume growth (73%yoy in 3Q v/s 70% in
2Q). Globally, higher speeds have led to higher usage. India is unlikely to buck the trend. We expect industry data volume growth to remain strong.
Data pricing is steadily declining. We believe that there remains room for further cut especially as 3G penetration is still low & any cut will not only lead to higher usage (from elasticity) but also higher penetration (better affordability). Importantly, a cut before Jio launch will also reduce Jio?s flexibility to come at a big discount to prevailing tariffs at that time.
