India’s multiplay service revenue is set to grow steadily over the next five years, according to a recent forecast by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. The market is expected to rise from $2.4 billion in 2024 to $3 billion by 2029, showing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.2%. This growth will be driven mainly by the rising number of households subscribing to multiple services from a single provider.
Multiplay services refer to bundles that combine two or more services such as broadband, voice, TV, and sometimes even OTT content. These are often marketed as doubleplay (2 services), tripleplay (3 services), and quadplay (4 services).
The ongoing expansion of fibre-optic networks in India is a key reason for this rise. As telecom operators increase the reach of high-speed broadband services, more people are choosing bundled services for better value and convenience. These bundles not only offer access to more services but also bring potential cost savings.
GlobalData’s report shows that in 2024, double-play services made up 78.4% of all multiplay households in India. This was followed by triple-play at 12.2% and quad-play at 9.4%.
Doubleplay typically bundling unlimited voice and broadband remains the most popular option among Indian households. Major operators like Reliance Jio, Airtel, and BSNL offer such combinations at competitive prices.
Sarwat Zeeshan, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, said, “Doubleplay services is currently the largest multiplay service category, by subscriber base in India with all major operators – Airtel, Jio and BSNL bundling unlimited telephony along with their basic fibre broadband plans. For example, Reliance Jio bundles unlimited voice telephony with its dual play plans offering unlimited data with up to 30Mbps speed starting from INR399 [€4.06] per month.”
While double-play will keep its lead through 2029, its market share is expected to decline slightly as more customers move to triple-play and quad-play services. These options include pay-TV and OTT content alongside voice and broadband.
The tripleplay segment is forecast to grow at a much faster CAGR of 16.6%, as many households with existing pay-TV subscriptions begin to upgrade to bundled offers that include broadband and voice calling.
To encourage customers to switch, companies are offering discounts and bundled OTT subscriptions. These value-added features are helping operators gain more subscribers for their triple-play services.
One example is Bharti Airtel’s 699 Black Plan, which includes:
- Fiber broadband with 40Mbps speed
- DTH channels worth ₹260
- Access to 18+ OTT platforms like JioCinema, Hotstar, and Airtel Xstream
- Unlimited landline calls
These offers make the plans more appealing to customers who want a complete entertainment and communication package from one provider. Regarding subscriber numbers, Reliance Jio is currently the leader in India’s multiplay market, followed by Bharti Airtel.
Sarwat Zeeshan, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, said, “Reliance Jio led the multiplay market in terms of household subscriptions in 2024, followed by Bharti Airtel. Jio’s leadership in the multiplay services market is primarily due to its widespread fiber optic network coverage and a large fiber broadband subscriber base, which allows them to quickly transition them to multiplay service bundles.”
India’s multiplay market is evolving rapidly. With increased broadband access, competitive pricing, and added benefits like OTT access, more households are choosing bundled services over individual ones. This not only benefits the consumers but also helps service providers grow their revenue by offering better value and convenience in one package.