Even as Vodafone Idea continues to report subscriber churn for 2.5 years now, the telecom operator in September reported an increase in active subscribers for the first time in 1.5 years, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Out of the total 227.5 million subscribers, the company’s active subscribers at the end of September were at 199.8 million, an increase of 0.4 million from the previous month.
The last time Vodafone reported an increase in active subscribers base was in March 2022, when it was at 226.1 million. The reason for this surge in September this year can be attributed to improvement in subscriber mix with the addition of 4G users, according to analysts. As of September-end, the company’s 4G subscriber base was at 126.5 million, an increase of nearly 1 million from the previous month.
On the other hand, BSNL lost 2.33 million subscribers in September, which was its highest subscriber monthly churn so far in the absence of 4G services and competition from private operators. The company lost subscribers for the 21st consecutive month, taking its base to 93.5 million at the end of September. It has also lost active subscribers for 18 months now. In September, 0.6 million active subscribers left the company, taking the count to 49.9 million.
Meanwhile, the country’s top two telecom operators Jio and Airtel continue to lead the additions in wireless subscribers. Reliance Jio added nearly 3.5 million subscribers during the month, taking its total user base to 449.2 million, whereas Bharti Airtel added 1.3 million users with mobile user base as of September-end at 377.8 million. In terms of active users, Airtel added 0.6 million connections, whereas Jio added nearly 3.16 million. Airtel’s active user base was at 376 million, while Jio’s was 420.3 million.
The overall mobile subscriber base of the country was at 1.15 billion as of September-end, with an addition of 1.7 million users during the month. Both Airtel and Jio are also gaining subscribers as Vodafone Idea and BSNL continue to lose them. Trai data suggests that Airtel’s market share rose to 32.85% from 32.78% in August, and Jio’s share also rose to 39.06% from 38.81% in the wireless segment.
Barring Uttar Pradesh (East), Kerala, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Odisha, all other service areas have shown growth in their wireless subscribers during September, Trai said.
Of the total 1.15 billion subscribers, 1.046 billion or 91% were active, according to the peak visitor location register, which shows the number of active users, including those roaming on a mobile operator’s network. The total active user base during the month rose by 3.5 million.
With regard to the 4G subscriber base, the three telecom operators added 8.04 million subscribers. These additions came on the back of the shift in the subscriber base from 2G, according to analysts. Since Jio’s network is completely on 4G from the start, its 4G subscriber addition is the same as that of total additions.
Airtel added 3.6 million 4G subscribers in September, its highest in nine months. The company’s 4G subscriber base was 250.6 million at the end of September. Its wireline subscriber base at the end of September was at 7.9 million, recording a rise of 0.15 million, whereas BSNL’s subscriber base in the segment was at 6.2 million. During the month, BSNL lost 81,001 users in the wireline segment, whereas Jio’s subscriber base rose to over 10.4 million, with addition of 0.13 million subscribers.