NEW DELHI: After gaining customer base for four consecutive months, the State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) lost 0.34 million subscribers in November 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said. In contrast, private telecom service provider Reliance Jio gained 1.2 million subscribers, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea lost 1.1 million and 1.5 million customers, respectively.
The shift indicates that the customer migration to BSNL, triggered by the price hike announced by private telcos in July 2024, has started to slow down. Previously, BSNL had gained around 5.5 million mobile users, who ported their numbers to the State-owned telco till October 2024.
According to TRAI, the overall wireless subscriber base decreased from 1,150.42 million at the end of October 2024 to 1,148.65 million at the end of November 2024, representing a monthly decline of 0.15%. Urban wireless subscription decreased by 0.20%, from 625.56 million to 624.32 million, while rural wireless subscription decreased by 0.10%, from 524.86 million to 524.32 million.