Today’s telecom news includes announcements on Ethio Telecom, India’s telecom PLI scheme, TRAI Drive Tests in Hisar, among others.
Ethio Telecom’s Profit Soars Over 80% Driven by Network Growth and Mobile Money Expansion
Ethiopia’s state-owned telecom operator, Ethio Telecom, reported an over 80 percent increase in its annual pretax profit, reaching approximately 76 billion birr ($550 million) for the year ending in June. The growth was driven by network expansion and a growing customer base. The company’s total number of subscribers rose by 6.3 percent to 83.2 million, while users of its financial service, Telebirr, increased by 15.3 percent to 54.8 million. Ethio Telecom expanded its network infrastructure by adding cellular towers and improving data services
India’s Telecom PLI Scheme Drives ₹4,305 Crore Investment and Boosts 5G Rollout
The Indian government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom and networking products has led to investments of ₹4,305 crore and total sales of ₹85,391 crore as of May 31, 2025. Exports under the scheme reached ₹16,414 crore. The scheme includes 42 approved companies, with 28 MSMEs and 14 non-MSMEs. Spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands was assigned to telecom service providers through auctions in 2022 and 2024 to support 5G rollout. The Department of Telecommunications funded 126 projects under the Digital Communications Innovation Square (DCIS) scheme with a budget of ₹108 crore, focusing on technologies such as indigenous 5G solutions. The BharatNet project is being implemented to provide broadband to Gram Panchayats, with 2,14,325 Gram Panchayats service-ready.
TRAI Drive Tests Reveal Telecom Network Performance in Hisar: Jio and Vodafone Idea Lead in Key Metrics
TRAI conducted drive tests in Hisar, Haryana, to assess mobile network quality of telecom operators. The tests measured call setup success rate (CSSR), call setup time, call drop rate (CDR), mean opinion score (MOS), and data speeds. Results showed Vodafone Idea had the highest CSSR at 99.86 percent, followed by Jio at 99.46 percent, Airtel at 99.45 percent, and BSNL at 90.93 percent. Jio recorded the shortest call setup time at 0.67 seconds, while BSNL had the longest at 2.42 seconds. Airtel and Vodafone Idea had low call drop rates; BSNL’s was 2.60 percent. Vodafone Idea and Jio led MOS with scores of 3.82 and 3.81. In data speeds, Jio had the highest download speed at 242.57 Mbps and upload speed at 21.18 Mbps. Airtel followed with 208.43 Mbps download and 36.81 Mbps upload. BSNL and Vodafone Idea reported lower speeds.
TelecomLead.com News Desk