NEW DELHI: Nearly 5.5 million mobile users (till October 2024) ported their numbers to the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) after the tariff hikes announced by private telecom service providers in June 2024.
As per data from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), there was a major rise in customer migrations from other telcos to BSNL from July to October 2024 period. In July 2024, BSNL saw 1.5 million users joining its network from Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (VIL). This number rose to 2.1 million in August, 1.1 million in September, and 0.7 million in October 2024.
In contrast, BSNL experienced only 63,709 port-ins in June 2024, prior to the tariff hikes. At the same time, the number of customers leaving BSNL to switch to other networks had been higher in June 2024, with nearly 0.4 million users porting out. Following the tariff hikes, the rate of customer churn significantly decreased. By July 2024, only 0.31 million users left BSNL, and this number further dropped to 0.26 million in August, 0.28 million in September, and 0.51 million in October 2024.
Overall, the number of customers joining BSNL far outpaced those leaving the network during this period, with many consumers opting for the state-run operator. Additionally, BSNL experienced a surge in new SIM card sales. The company sold just 790,000 SIM cards in June 2024, but this number jumped to 4.9 million in July 2024, 5 million in August 2024, 2.8 million in September, and 1.9 million in October 2024.
Meanwhile, the telecom industry saw a decline in subscriber numbers. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), telcos collectively lost 10 million users in September 2024. Jio lost 7.9 million, Airtel lost 1.4 million, and VIL lost 1.5 million subscribers during the month. Robert Ravi, Chairman and MD of BSNL, stated that the company has no plans to increase its tariffs in the near future.