For Idea Cellular, Mobile Data now accounts for 16.9% of revenues (up from 15.7% in 3QFY15 and 10.1% in 4QFY14) and 21.7% of the subscriber base (3G data subs are a subset of this, accounting for about 9.2% of Idea?s subscriber base). Notably, Idea changed its definition of data subscribers in 4QFY15. The company now counts only subscribers using 10 MB or more as data subs vs. a 1 MB cut-off previously. As a result, the data subscriber count decreased modestly, from 34.2mn in 3QFY15 to 33.4mn at the end of 4QFY15. We see continued risk of a moderation in data pricing in the name of increasing data penetration (particularly due to Reliance Jio?s entry). Total data traffic grew an impressive 100% Y/Y and ~18% Q/Q. 3G subscribers consumed about 56% of total data volumes. Data usage per subscriber was at 586 MB, while 3G data subs? data consumption was at 777 MB (Q/Q and Y/Y comparisons are not relevant due to the definition change). Data ARPU was at Rs150, while the 3G data ARPU was Rs209.
Raise 3G site coverage to ~60% (of existing sites) in 2yrs, from 27% (of 2G sites) currently. The company has identified 500 towns for data services rollout. This will be supplemented by investments in fiber (+19,400 km in last 2 yrs), with an aim of making backhaul 3G/ LTE ready.
