NEW DELHI: For the first time since the tariff hike announced by private telecom operators in July 2024, Bharti Airtel added 1.9 million subscribers in October 2024. State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) also gained 0.5 million customers during the same period.
However, Reliance Jio, India's largest telecom service provider, continued to lose subscribers, with a loss of 3.76 million, while Vodafone Idea Limited lost around 1.97 million customers.
All private telecom service providers raised their tariffs by up to 25% in July 2024. Following the hike, these telcos experienced significant subscriber losses. Reliance Jio lost 758,463 subscribers in July 2024, 4 million in August, and 7.9 million in September 2024. Bharti Airtel lost 1.6 million in July 2024, 2.4 million in August, and 1.4 million in September 2024. Vodafone Idea, India's third-largest telecom operator, lost 1.4 million in July 2024, 1.87 million in August, and 1.5 million in September.
In terms of overall market share, Reliance Jio held the top position with 39.99%, followed by Bharti Airtel at 33.50%, Vodafone Idea at 18.30%, and BSNL at 8.05%.
Overall, the mobile user base continued to decline slightly. In October 2024, total wireless subscribers decreased from 1,153.72 million at the end of September to 1,150.42 million at the end of October, registering a monthly decline rate of 0.29%. This decline was observed in both urban areas (from 628.12 million to 625.56 million) and rural areas (from 525.60 million to 524.86 million) during the same period.
In October 2024, 13.45 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). Meanwhile, India had 1066.67 million active mobile users in October 2024. Bharti Airtel Limited boasted the highest proportion of active wireless subscribers at 99.48%, followed by Reliance Jio at 97.46% and Vodafone Idea at 84.95%.