Reliance Jio, Airtel Add Subscribers In December; Vodafone Idea Continues To Shed Users

Mukesh-Ambani led Reliance Jio continued to gain subscribers in December 2022, adding 1.71 Mn users, according to the monthly data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Reliance Jio’s archrival Bharti Airtel also added 1.52 Mn subscribers during the month. In November, Jio and Airtel added 1.42 Mn and 1.05 Mn subscribers, respectively.

On the other hand, Vodafone Idea (Vi) shed subscribers for the 18th consecutive month. The telecom operator lost 2.47 Mn subscribers in December 2022 after losing 1.82 Mn subscribers in November.

Overall, the telecom subscriber base declined marginally in December to 1.142 Bn from 1.143 Bn in November 2022.

Moreover, Jio and Airtel reported a net addition of 8.6 Mn active subscribers in the month. In terms of active subscriber addition, Airtel saw the highest increase of 5.98 Mn, followed by Jio at 2.97 Mn. However, Vi again lost 0.12 Mn active subscribers.

The overall tele-density slipped to 84.56% in December 2022 from 84.61% at the end of November. While the cumulative urban tele-density stood at 134.16%, rural tele-density settled around the 57.69% mark.

As many as 12.49 Mn users also submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in December 2022, taking the total requests till date to 771.94 Mn.

Currently, the telecom industry is going through massive change as the operators are launching their 5G services. While Jio is now live with its 5G services in 257 Indian cities across 29 states and union territories, Airtel 5G is live in 98 cities.

Meanwhile, TRAI on Friday held a meeting with major telecom service providers (TSPs) to review the issues related to quality of telecom services being faced by consumers and the menace of unsolicited commercial communications (UCC).

TRAI directed TSPs to take urgent steps to demonstrate visible improvement in quality of service and quality of experience of consumers. While rolling out 5G network, TSPs should ensure that there is least disturbance or degradation of QoS of existing telecom services, the telecom watchdog said.