Jio and Vodafone Idea lose customers, Airtel gains in Feb, shows TRAI data

Jio customer base erodes for third month on the trot though the firm makes gains in number of active users

Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea reported month on month decline in wireless subscribers while Airtel showed gains in February, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data.

Jio lost over 3.6 million subscribers and its total customer base stood at 402.7 million. This was the third consecutive month of negative growth for the country’s largest mobile service provider.

Jio however continues to show gains in number of active users and according to TRAI data it stood at 94 per cent of its total base in February. The figure of active subscribers stood at 78 per cent seven months ago. Jio has been de-recognizing inactive users that has resulted in this positive trend.

Vodafone lost over 1.5 million subscribers and its customer count slipped to 263.5 million. Airtel added 1.59 million new users and its customer count increased to 358 million.

Mobile companies took a 20 per cent tariff hike in prepaid plans towards the end of November that has resulted in consolidation of SIM cards. Following its third quarter result in February, Jio had also said its repurposing its customer retention efforts aimed to improve the quality of base and to reduce its costs.