BSNL, in fact, is actively looking to attract subscribers and claw back market share, and has recently launched several new offers and initiatives, from spam blockers to automated SIM kiosks and direct-to-device services.
Private telcos Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea lost over a crore wireless subscribers in September, even as state-owned BSNL surprised with a net addition of around 8.5 lakh mobile users, according to monthly data released by TRAI. Reliance Jio lost 79.69 lakh mobile subscribers in September compared to the previous month, followed by Bharti Airtel (14.34 lakh users), and Vodafone Idea (15.53 lakh users).
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has added 8.49 lakh users to its wireless subscriber base.
Reliance Jio had 46.37 crore wireless customers in September, while Bharti Airtel had 38.34 crore. As of September 2024, Vodafone Idea’s wireless user base was 21.24 crore.
BSNL’s gains in September took its customer base to 9.18 crore.
It may be mentioned that three private telecom companies increased mobile tariffs by 10-27 percent in July.
BSNL, however, avoided following in the footsteps of its larger rivals and its chairman and managing director Robert Ravi recently ruled out a tariff hike in the near future.
“We can clearly say that we are not going to increase our tariffs in the near future,” Ravi told reporters in October.
BSNL, in fact, is actively looking to attract subscribers and claw back market share, and has recently launched several new offers and initiatives, from spam blockers to automated SIM kiosks and direct-to-device services.
According to TRAI subscriber data, with the sole exception of Odisha, all other service areas showed a decline in their wireless subscribers during September 2024.
“Total broadband subscribers declined to 944.40 million monthly from 949.21 million at the end of August 2024, compared to 1,219 operators in August 2024, as per data from 1,167 operators in September 2024. A decline rate of 0.51 percent,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said.
As of September 30, 2024, Jio topped the broadband subscriber (wired and wireless) chart with 47.7 crore subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel (28.5 crore) and Vodafone India (12.6 crore). BSNL was ranked fourth in the list with 3.7 crore customers.
India’s total wireless subscribers declined to 1,153.72 million at the end of September 2024, registering a monthly decline of 0.87 percent. The monthly decline rate of urban and rural wireless subscriptions was 0.80 percent and 0.95 percent, respectively.