NEW DELHI: Vodafone Idea, India’s third-largest telecom service provider, lost 17.29 million active users in financial year (FY) 2024–25, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The telco throughout the year struggle with subscriber retention. For instance, its active subscriber base—which refers to users who are regularly active on the network—fell to 175.35 million in March 2025 from 192.64 million in April 2024. Subsequently, the company’s market share declined to 17.75% in March 2025, down from 18.77% a year earlier.
As per TRAI data released on Wednesday, Vodafone Idea had a total of 205.36 million users in March 2025. The decline in active users came despite the company making financial headway in this financial year. Vodafone Idea raised Rs. 18,000 crore through a Follow-on Public Offer (FPO) and received relief from the Indian government, which agreed to convert Rs. 36,950 crore of the company's spectrum auction-related dues into equity. Experts believe one of the primary reasons for customer attrition is the lack of 5G services, as Vodafone Idea only recently began rolling out its 5G network.
Meanwhile, competitors Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel continued to add active customers, despite the tariff hikes announced earlier in the year. The private telecom players had raised tariffs by up to 25% across various plans last year, which initially led to a significant drop in their customer base for a few months.
According to TRAI data, Reliance Jio—India’s largest telecom operator—recorded 451 million active subscribers as of March 2025, up from 433.32 million in April 2024. This increase slightly increased its market share to 40.60%, up from 40.48%. Bharti Airtel, India’s second-largest telecom provider, also expanded its active subscriber base to 389.68 million in March 2025, up from 383.82 million in April 2024. Its market share rose to 33.69%, from 33.12%.
The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) also showed improvement. In April 2024, BSNL had 47.84 million active users out of a total of 87.02 million subscribers. By March 2025, the number of active users had increased to 57.70 million out of 91.06 million total subscribers.