NEW DELHI: State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) emerged as the biggest beneficiary of recent tariff hikes by private telecom service providers in India, adding 2.5 million customers in August 2024. This marks the second consecutive month of subscriber growth for BSNL, following the addition of 2.94 million new subscribers in July 2024.
In July 2024, all major private telecom providers—including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL)—raised their tariffs by up to 25%. This decision led to significant subscriber losses for all private operators in the country.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator, lost 4 million customers in August 2024. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea followed suit, losing 2.4 million and 1.87 million customers, respectively. In July 2024, Bharti Airtel lost 1,694,300 subscribers, Vodafone Idea lost 1,413,910 subscribers, and Jio experienced a decline of 758,463 subscribers.
In terms of market share, BSNL's share increased from 7.59% in July 2024 to 7.84% in August 2024. Meanwhile, private telecos continued to experience a decline in market share. Reliance Jio, which had 40.68% in July 2024, dropped to 40.53% in August 2024. Bharti Airtel, which had 33.23% in July 2024, fell to 33.07% in August 2024. Similarly, India’s third-largest telecom operator, Vi, which had 18.46% in July 2024, decreased to 18.39%.
Recently, Robert Ravi, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL, stated that the company will not increase tariffs in the near future. He emphasized that BSNL's primary focus is on ensuring customer satisfaction and building consumer confidence, noting that there is no immediate need for tariff hikes.
Overall, total wireless or mobile subscribers declined from 1,169.61 million at the end of July 2024 to 1,163.83 million at the end of August 2024, indicating a monthly decline rate of 0.49%. In urban areas, wireless subscriptions dropped from 635.46 million in July to 633.21 million in August, while rural wireless subscriptions fell from 534.15 million to 530.63 million during the same period.
Except for Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Punjab, all other service areas showed a decline in wireless subscribers during August 2024.
According to TRAI, a total of 14.66 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in August 2024.