Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea see rise in fixed-line subscribers in February

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea witnessed a rise in fixed-line subscribers at a time when the overall wireline users in the country continued to decline in February, according to data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

“Wireline subscribers further declined from 21.79 million at the end of January to 21.72 million at the end of February,” the report said. Net decline in the wireline subscriber base was 0.07 million with a monthly decline rate of 0.36 per cent. 

The share of urban as well as rural subscribers in total wireline subscribers was 85.95 per cent and 14.05 per cent, respectively, at the end of February 2019. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd held 66.77 per cent of the fixed-line market, while Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea held 18.95 per cent and 1.41 per cent share, respectively, as on February 28.

So far as net wireless additions are concerned, Reliance Jio and BSNL drove the telecom growth in the country by adding a net of 8.63 million mobile subscribers in February. The telecom subscriber base grew marginally to 1.2 billion but the rest of the operators, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, lost a big chunk of their respective subscribers, as per data. 

The number of telecom subscribers in India increased marginally to 1.2 billion at the end of February against January, according to the Trai data. The sector, dominated by wireless connection, recorded an increase in the mobile services subscriber base to 1.18 billion in February.