Jio Cements Its Position As Telecom Leader In January 2023, Vi Loses 1.36 Mn Users

It was another month at the top of the Indian telecom market for Reliance Jio as the Akash Ambani-led telco gained 1.66 Mn users in January 2023, ahead of the only other telco in the green, Bharti Airtel. Sunil Mittal’s telecom giant added 1.28 Mn users.

Meanwhile, state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) emerged as the biggest loser during the month, shedding 1.48 Mn users. Vodafone Idea (Vi) also continued its losing streak, as nearly 1.36 Mn users bid farewell to the telco, as per the data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

In terms of market share, Jio was at the top position with a 37.28% share in the wireless subscriber market. Airtel’s market share stood at 32.27%, while Vi was in the third position with a 20.99% share. 

BSNL claimed a 9.21% share, while MTNL and Reliance Communications held 0.24% and 0.0002% share, respectively.

With 426.17 Mn users, Reliance Jio remained the largest Indian telecom operator as of January 31, 2023. 

Airtel was in the second spot with 368.89 Mn subscribers, while Vodafone Idea took the third spot with 239.96 Mn subscribers. BSNL finished a distant fourth with 105.23 Mn subscribers as of January-end.

In all, the total wireless subscribers saw a marginal growth of 0.01% or about 90,000 users, going from 1,142.93 Mn in December 2022 to 1,143.02 Mn at the end of January 2023.

The wireless teledensity in India decreased to 82.52% at the end of January 2023 from 82.57% at the end of December 2022. While the urban teledensity stood at 128.76%, rural teledensity was at 57.44%.

The month of January also saw Indian telecom users place 12.40 Mn requests for mobile number portability (MNP), slightly lower from the 12.49 requests received in December 2022. The total number of MNP requests stood at 796.84 Mn as of January 31, 2023.

On the other hand, the number of broadband users in the country reached 839.18 Mn, a jump of 0.84% compared to December 2022, on the back of a significant rise in the number of mobile broadband users.

Jio’s dominance continued in the broadband market as well, as the company secured a 51.72% market share. Airtel had a 28.29% market share, while Vi secured a 14.90% market share as of January 31, 2023.

However, the wired broadband market was more competitive than the wireless market, as Jio, BSNL and Airtel continued to vie for control. The three telcos secured a 31.08%, 25.55% and 24.89% market share, respectively.

Including the state-owned MTNL, the government emerged as the biggest player in the wireline market, as BSNL and MTNL together secured a 34.12% market share, edging out Jio in the process.

India’s telecom sector is currently undergoing a generational update, as networks across the country are being upgraded from 4G to 5G. Hundreds of towns and cities have been covered by 5G as of now, as the telcos plan to complete the rollout by the end of 2024.