Voda, Airtel lose 49L users, Jio, BSNL gain

Total wireless subscribers (GSM, CDMA and LTE) increased to 117.37 crore at the end of September 2019 from 117.1 crore at the end of August, a monthly growth of 0.23 per cent, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said. Wireless subscription in urban areas declined to 65.91 crore at the end of September, while that in rural areas increased to 51.45 crore, it added.

As per the data, Bharti Airtel lost 23.8 lakh users in September to take its total user base to 32.55 crore. Similarly, Vodafone Idea lost 25.7 lakh users in the month to take its total user base to 37.24 crore. However, Reliance Jio added 69.83 lakh users in September, taking its total user base to 35.52 crore.

As on September 30, 2019, Vodafone Idea had a subscriber market share of 31.73 per cent, Reliance Jio had a market share of 30.26 per cent, and Bharti Airtel of 27.74 per cent. State-run MTNL saw 8,717 users move out (33.93 lakh user base), while BSNL added 7.37 lakh users to take its total base to 11.69 crore.

The wireless tele-density in India increased from 88.77 at the end of August to 88.90 at the end of September, TRAI said. As per the data, Bharti Airtel lost 23.8 lakh users in September to take its total user base to 32.55 crore. Similarly, Vodafone Idea lost 25.7 lakh users in the month to take its total user base to 37.24 crore.

Meanwhile, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio said it will increase mobile phone call and data charges in the next few weeks. The statement came a day after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd announced a hike in call and data charges from next month. Jio said TRAI is likely to initiate consultation process for revision in telecom tariffs.

“Like other operators, we will also work with the government and comply with the regulatory regime to strengthen the industry to benefit Indian consumers and take measures including appropriate increase in tariffs in next few weeks in a manner that does not adversely impact data consumption or growth in digital adoption and sustains investments,” it said.