Reliance Jio Faces Subscriber Drop: Over 1.6 Crore Lost in Just Four Months

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, India's largest telecom operator, has seen a decline of nearly 1.65 crore subscribers over the past four months. Reliance Jio lost 37.6 lakh mobile subscribers in October, 79 lakh in September 2024, 40 lakh in August 2024 and over 7.58 lakh in July 2024.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data, India's second-largest telecom company, Airtel, gained nearly 24 lakh subscribers in October, after losing more than 14.3 lakh subscribers in September. Airtel lost 24 lakh subscribers in August 2024 and 16 lakh subscribers in July 2024. Vodafone Idea lost more than 19 lakh mobile subscribers in October, compared to a decline of 15.5 lakh in September.

The decline in the subscriber base for the private telecom player can be attributed to the tariff hike by the companies in mid-2024, which came into effect in July. Meanwhile, state-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) continued to gain subscribers. BSNL added five lakh customers in October. BSNL added over 68 lakh subscribers in the last four months.

According to the data in October, Reliance Jio has 47.48 crore subscribers, Bharti Airtel has 28.7 crore subscribers, Vodafone Idea has 12.5 crore subscribers and BSNL has 3.6 crore subscribers. In terms of overall market share, Reliance Jio topped with 39.99 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel with 33.50 per cent. Vodafone Idea and BSNL hold 18.30 per cent and 8.05 per cent market share, respectively. Total wireless subscribers stood at 1,150.42 million at the end of October, thereby registering a marginal monthly decline rate of 0.29 per cent.

Wireline subscribers increased from 36.93 million at the end of September to 37.79 million at the end of October. As of October 31, the private access service providers held 91.78 per cent market share of the wireless subscribers whereas BSNL and MTNL had a market share of only 8.22 per cent.