New Delhi: The largest telecom company in India, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., has lost millions of subscribers over the past four months. The company lost around 1.65 crore subscribers. In October, the company lost 37.6 lakh subscribers.
This decline for Jio started in July 2024, when it lost 7.58 lakh users. Then, the numbers worsened in the following months: 40 lakh users lost in August, 79 lakh in September, and 37.6 lakh in October.
The second-largest telecom operator of the country, Bharti Airtel Ltd. on the other hand has seemingly recovered. Having lost over 14.3 lakh subscribers in September, the company saw a comeback of nearly 24 lakh users in October. The company had still seen losses before that: 24 lakh users it had lost in August, and 16 lakh in July.
Vodafone Idea was no better in this case with the subscribers count reduced gradually. During October, it saw an exit of 19 lakh subscribers compared to 15.5 lakh in September.
Meanwhile, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) is gaining. BSNL added the most users in October; four months together have taken its net addition to 68.1 lakh subscribers. Such an increase primarily reflects better penetration and affordable prices in areas other than big cities.
The net loss of mobile users in India’s telecom sector in October has been found to be around 33 lakh, which indicates a sizeable improvement from the bigger loss faced in September.
All the above changes come in the wake of private telecom operators having hiked their tariffs early this year. New rates, which came into effect late in June and were introduced in July, have indeed affected customer behavior, as user preferences shifted across operators.
The company has added 38.4 lakh new active subscribers during October through the Visitor Location Register or VLR, as per the active user figures for Reliance Jio. Airtel followed with 27.2 lakh. BSNL added 9.5 lakh active users.
On the positive side, complaints against unregistered telemarketers came down by 20% from 1.89 lakh in August to 1.51 lakh in October 2024. This was after the TRAI issued a directive in August, banning voice promotional calls from unregistered senders and putting offenders on a two-year blacklist.
These shifts reflect the evolving dynamics of India’s telecom industry, influenced by factors such as tariff changes, service quality, and regulatory actions.
The net loss of mobile users in India’s telecom sector in October was reported to be around 33 lakh, showing a big improvement from the larger loss in September.
The above changes come in the wake of private telecom operators having hiked their tariffs early this year. The new rates, which came into effect in late June and were introduced in July, have indeed affected customer behavior, as user preferences shifted across operators.
As for the active users, Reliance Jio has added 38.4 lakh new active subscribers during October through the Visitor Location Register or VLR. Airtel followed by adding 27.2 lakh. BSNL added 9.5 lakh active users.
On the positive side, complaints against unregistered telemarketers reduced by 20%, down from 1.89 lakh in August to 1.51 lakh in October 2024. This was after the TRAI issued a directive in August, banning voice promotional calls from unregistered senders and putting offenders on a two-year blacklist.
These shifts reflect the evolving dynamics of India’s telecom industry, influenced by factors such as tariff changes, service quality, and regulatory actions.
