Bharti Airtel once again beat Jio by adding the most active subscribers in 14 months. This happened during a time when Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd customer accretion is getting affected due to farmer’s protests in northern India.
According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Airtel added as many as 5.5 million subscribers in December over the preceding month. This also includes subscribers with Airtel VIP mobile number. On the other hand, Reliance Jio could add only about 3.2 million subscribers in the same period. This makes Airtel the dominant telecom operator in the market.
To get more subscribers, Jio has changed its plans. One good thing about Jio is that they continue to offer high-speed connection and affordable data to people. If you wish to take advantage of Jio data, you should apply for a Jio number. They also offer Jio fancy numbers if you are interested.
Reliance Jio Suffering Due To Farmers Protest
There’s no hiding that Jio is one of the top telecom operators out there. Both Airtel and Jio are top contenders in the telecom market. However, recently, Jio saw its towers vandalized by Delhi farmer protestors.
This incident took place in Delhi-NCR, Haryana, and Punjab. Jio also claimed that protestors took the opportunity to port out its users to other telecom brands. However, this idea is rejected by both Airtel and VI.
The active subscriber’s base of Airtel grew by 1.7% and Jio’s by 1% over the preceding month. On the other hand, the Vodafone Idea subscriber’s base dropped by 0.6%.
Gross Subscriber Addition
According to reports, Bharti Airtel added nearly 4.05 million gross subscribers in December. The figures indicate that they are 8.5 times higher than Reliance Jio.
The Sunil Mittal-driven Telecom company beat Reliance Jio for the fifth time. With this win, Airtel continues to be the top telecom operator in the country.
On the other hand, Vodafone Idea, India’s newest telecom operator could add only 0.48 million users. This is the lowest since December 2019. According to reports, Vodafone Idea lost 5.7 million gross subscribers in the last nine months.
The gross subscriber base grew by 1.2% for Airtel and 0.1% for Reliance Jio. But for Vodafone Idea, the numbers have declined by 2%, which is the highest.
Active Subscriber Base
Coming to the active subscriber base, Bharti Airtel is currently on the top. They have the highest proportion of active users at 97.1%. On the second spot, we have Vodafone Idea’s 90.26%, while the third position is occupied by Reliance Jio at 80.23%. The industry average comes to 84.54%.
Inactive Subscribers
As far as the inactive user base is concerned, all the three telecom companies have managed to narrow in December.
Vodafone Idea’s and Jio’s inactive subscriber base dropped for the fourth straight month and second straight month, respectively. On the contrary, Airtel’s inactive user count fell in December after going high from September to November.
Final Words
The struggle between the telecom operators in the country continues. Currently, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are in the first and second position, while Vodafone Idea is struggling to hold onto its subscribers. Due to the recent farmer’s protests in the country, Jio suffered major losses when their towers got vandalized in different locations in Delhi by protestors. During this time, the number of subscribers added by Airtel increased. This made Airtel the top telecom operator in the country for the fifth time. They continue to be the dominant telecom company in the country. But considering the stiff competition, the figures may change soon.
