Reliance Jio adds 8.5 mn subscribers in July; Airtel gains 2.5 mn users

Reliance Jio added 8.5 million subscribers in July, after almost three months of slow addition, even as the older incumbents lost a cumulative six mn, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Bharti Airtel reported 2.5 million subscribers exiting its network. Vodafone Idea had 3.4 million exits. Jio’s highest reported monthly addition this year has been 9.4 million in March. 

Both Jio and Airtel have inched up their broadband market share, to 56.2 per cent and 20.5 per cent, respectively. The active subscriber base reported by Trai has reduced to 83.2 per cent, compared to 84.4 per cent in June. Airtel continues to lead there.

The top five wired broadband service providers were BSNL (9.05 million), Bharti Airtel (2.4 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.47 million), Hathway Cable & Datacom (0.85 million) and You Broadband (0.75 million). The wired broadband base is expected to undergo some change as Jio starts offering commercial fibre services; Airtel has also launched competitive plans. The top wireless broadband operators are Jio (339.8 million subscribers), Airtel (121.5 million) and Vodafone Idea (110.9 million). 

The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,186.63 million at the end of June to 1,189.28 mn at the end of July, up 0.2 per cent. Urban subscription increased from 675.58 million to 678.02 million; rural subscription from 511.05 million to 511.25 million. 

Teledensity increased from 90.11 at the end of June to 90.23. The urban figure rose from 160.78 to 161.12; rural teledensity slightly declined from 56.99 to 56.98.