Jio Loses 79 Lakh Subscribers In September, Airtel Sheds 14 Lakh

Still reeling under the impact of tariff hikes announced in July this year, telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel continued to lose subscribers for the third consecutive month in September 2024.

Jio experienced the sharpest decline as it lost 79 Lakh wireless subscribers in September 2024, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) followed with a net loss of 15 Lakh subscribers. Meanwhile, Airtel shed 14 Lakh Mn subscribers, according to the latest monthly subscriber data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). 

MTNL also saw a slight dip in number as 2,100 subscribers left the government-owned telecom operator. 

In contrast, another state-owned telco BSNL emerged as the sole gainer in September, adding 8.49 Lakh subscribers during the same period.

Overall, the Indian telecom sector recorded a net loss of 1 Cr wireless subscribers in September. Total active wireless user base declined 0.87% to 115 Cr from 116 Cr in August.

Jio retained its dominance in the Indian telecom market, accounting for a 40.20% share. Airtel followed with a 33.24% market share, while Vi accounted for 18.41%. BSNL’s share stood at 7.98%.

The country’s teledensity also slipped to 84.69% in September from 85.43% in August this year.

In the broadband segment (wireless and wireline combined), the total user base declined 0.51% to 94.4.Cr in September from 94.9 Cr in the previous month. Jio led this category as well, commanding 50.61% market share. It was followed by Airtel with 30.20% share and Vi with 13.38%.

Meanwhile, mobile number portability (MNP) requests surged during the month, with 1.33 Cr subscribers submitting applications to switch networks.

The dwindling subscribers can be attributed to tariff hikes announced by telcos four months ago. While Airtel increased prices by up to 25% for its prepaid plans, Jio also hiked the tariffs for its prepaid and postpaid plans by 12% to 25% in the same month. 

The monthly data comes at a time when telcos are shifting their focus to their next frontier – satellite communication (satcom) services. In October 2024, the department of telecommunications (DoT) provisionally allocated satellite spectrum to Airtel-backed OneWeb and Jio’s Orbit Connect India for test runs. 

Both Airtel and Jio have announced plans to integrate satcom services with their existing telecom operations. Bharti’s OneWeb has expressed readiness to roll out services, and is awaiting a green light from the government for commercial operations. 

Similarly, Jio has ramped up its efforts to deploy satcom services to bolster its profits, tap into underserved rural markets and diversify its product mix.