Jio Loses 79 Lakh Subscribers In September, Airtel Sheds 14 Lakh

SUMMARY

Regardless of subscriber loss, Reliance Jio maintained its dominant place with a 40.20% market share within the Indian telecom sector

Whereas Vodafone Thought misplaced 15 Lakh subscribers in September, state-owned BSNL emerged as the only gainer throughout the month and added 8.49 Lakh subscribers

The nation’s teledensity slipped to 84.69% in September from 85.43% in August this 12 months

Nonetheless reeling beneath the influence of tariff hikes introduced in July this 12 months, telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel continued to lose subscribers for the third consecutive month in September 2024.

Jio skilled the sharpest decline because it misplaced 79 Lakh wi-fi subscribers in September 2024, whereas Vodafone Thought (Vi) adopted with a internet lack of 15 Lakh subscribers. In the meantime, Airtel shed 14 Lakh Mn subscribers, in keeping with the newest month-to-month subscriber knowledge from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). 

MTNL additionally noticed a slight dip in quantity as 2,100 subscribers left the government-owned telecom operator. 

In distinction, one other state-owned telco BSNL emerged as the only gainer in September, including 8.49 Lakh subscribers throughout the identical interval.

General, the Indian telecom sector recorded a internet lack of 1 Cr wi-fi subscribers in September. Whole lively wi-fi person base declined 0.87% to 115 Cr from 116 Cr in August.

Jio retained its dominance within the Indian telecom market, accounting for a 40.20% share. Airtel adopted with a 33.24% market share, whereas Vi accounted for 18.41%. BSNL’s share stood at 7.98%.

The nation’s teledensity additionally slipped to 84.69% in September from 85.43% in August this 12 months.

Within the broadband phase (wi-fi and wireline mixed), the overall person base declined 0.51% to 94.4.Cr in September from 94.9 Cr within the earlier month. Jio led this class as effectively, commanding 50.61% market share. It was adopted by Airtel with 30.20% share and Vi with 13.38%.

In the meantime, cellular quantity portability (MNP) requests surged throughout the month, with 1.33 Cr subscribers submitting functions to change networks.

The dwindling subscribers may be attributed to tariff hikes introduced by telcos 4 months in the past. Whereas Airtel elevated costs by as much as 25% for its pay as you go plans, Jio additionally hiked the tariffs for its pay as you go and postpaid plans by 12% to 25% in the identical month. 

The month-to-month knowledge comes at a time when telcos are shifting their focus to their subsequent frontier – satellite tv for pc communication (satcom) providers. In October 2024, the division of telecommunications (DoT) provisionally allotted satellite tv for pc spectrum to Airtel-backed OneWeb and Jio’s Orbit Join India for check runs. 

Each Airtel and Jio have introduced plans to combine satcom providers with their current telecom operations. Bharti’s OneWeb has expressed readiness to roll out providers, and is awaiting a inexperienced gentle from the federal government for industrial operations. 

Equally, Jio has ramped up its efforts to deploy satcom providers to bolster its income, faucet into underserved rural markets and diversify its product combine.