Airtel, Jio add 48 lakh users in Sept, VIL loses 7.5 lakh

Reliance Jio maintained its leadership position in the telecom market by adding 34.7 lakh mobile subscribers in September, as per the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Airtel, another key player, experienced an uptick in its wireless subscriber tally, rising by 13.2 lakh. However,  Vodafone Idea faced a setback, witnessing a loss of 7.5 lakh mobile subscribers leading to a dip in its wireless user tally, which now stands at 22.75 crore.

As of August 2023, Reliance Jio had subscriber base of 445,734,958, while the subscriber base of Airtel was 376,460,315. Vodafone had 228,284,597 users, while BSNL recorded 95,839,571 subscribers. 

In the realm of telecommunications, India witnessed an incremental rise in total wireless subscribers, ascending from 1,148.43 million in August 2023 to 1,150.15 million in September 2023, reflecting a modest monthly growth rate of 0.15%. Specifically, urban wireless subscriptions saw an uptick from 629.39 million in August to 630.17 million in September, marking a monthly growth rate of 0.12%. Similarly, wireless subscriptions in rural areas exhibited an increase, advancing from 519.04 million to 519.99 million during the same period, with a monthly growth rate of 0.18%. These figures underscore the evolving dynamics of wireless subscriptions in both urban and rural landscapes.

In the Indian telecommunications landscape, the Wireless Tele-density experienced a slight uptick, increasing from 82.48% in August 2023 to 82.54% in September 2023. Notably, there was a marginal decrease in Urban Wireless Tele-density from 127.84% at the close of August to 127.81% by the end of September. Conversely, Rural Tele-density showed a positive trajectory, advancing from 57.67% to 57.75% during the same period. At the conclusion of September 2023, the distribution of wireless subscribers indicated that urban areas accounted for 54.79% of the total, while rural areas constituted 45.21%, underscoring the ongoing dynamics between urban and rural telecommunication trends.

As of September 30, 2023, the wireless telecommunications landscape in India was predominantly dominated by private access service providers, collectively securing a commanding market share of 91.69%. In contrast, the two public sector undertaking (PSU) access service providers, BSNL and MTNL, collectively held a modest market share of 8.31%. This distribution underscores the substantial presence and influence of private entities in the wireless service sector, shaping the competitive dynamics within the market.

The overall number of telephone subscribers demonstrated an upward trajectory, rising from 1,179.21 million in August-23 to 1,181.13 million by the conclusion of September-23, reflecting a monthly growth rate of 0.16%. Specifically, urban telephone subscriptions witnessed an increase from 657.47 million in August-23 to 658.46 million in September-23, denoting a monthly growth rate of 0.15%. Simultaneously, rural telephone subscriptions experienced growth, ascending from 521.74 million to 522.66 million over the same period, with a monthly growth rate of 0.18%. These figures illustrate the evolving landscape of telephone subscriptions in both urban and rural sectors during the month of September 2023. 

The overall Tele-density experienced a slight elevation, progressing from 84.69% at the close of August 2023 to 84.76% by the end of September 2023. Notably, Urban Tele-density displayed a marginal decrease from 133.55% in August to 133.54% in September. Conversely, Rural Tele-density witnessed an upward shift, advancing from 57.97% to 58.05% during the same period. As of September 2023, the distribution of telephone subscribers indicated that urban areas contributed to 55.75% of the total, while rural areas constituted 44.25%, delineating the proportional share between urban and rural telecommunication trends.

The Delhi service area stands out with the highest tele-density, reaching 276.54% by the end of September 2023. In contrast, the Bihar service area exhibits the lowest tele-density, recording 55.98% during the same period.

Among the total 1,150.15 million wireless subscribers, a noteworthy 1,046.82 million were active on the date of peak VLR in September 2023. This indicates that approximately 91.02% of the entire wireless subscriber base were actively engaged during this period. 

Bharti Airtel boasts the highest proportion, reaching 99.57%, of its active wireless subscribers (VLR) in comparison to its total wireless subscriber (HLR) on the date of peak VLR in September-23. On the other end of the spectrum, MTNL exhibits the lowest proportion of VLR 32.31% of its HLR being during the same period. These metrics illuminate the varying degrees of subscriber engagement and utilisation among telecom providers during the specified timeframe.

The implementation of Intra-service area Mobile Number Portability (MNP) commenced initially in the Haryana service area from November 25, 2010, and subsequently, it was extended to the rest of the country from January 20, 2011. Later, on July 3, 2015, Inter-Service Area MNP was introduced across the country. This means that wireless telephone subscribers now have the flexibility to retain their mobile numbers when relocating from one service area to another.

During the month of September 2023 saw a substantial influx of 12.65 million requests for MNP services. Among these requests, Zone-I contributed 7.21 million, while 5.44 million requests from Zone-II. In MNP Zone-I (Northern and Western India), the highest number of requests till date have been received in Uttar Pradesh-East (about 80.29 million) followed by Maharashtra (about 73.30 million) service area.

In MNP Zone-II (Southern and Eastern India), the highest number of requests till date have been received in Madhya Pradesh (about 68.21 million) followed by Karnataka.

Total subscriber base in September-23 of telecommunication companies of Bharti Airtel (including Tata) stood at 377,780,571, Reliance Com. at 2,384, Vodafone Idea at 227,534,656, BSNL at 93506113, MTNL at 1,951,483, Reliance Jio at 449210446, total being 1,150,150,698 with net addition being 1,716,456.