Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
Telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel cumulatively gained nearly 25 lakh mobile subscribers in November even as troubled Vodafone Idea lost nearly 18.3 lakh customers, according to data by sector regulator TRAI. India's largest telco Reliance Jio cemented its lead in the market adding 14.26 lakh net subscribers in November, whereas Airtel added 10.56 lakh users. At the end of November 2022, Jio's mobile subscriber tally stood at 42.28 crore, the levels rising from 42.13 crore during the previous month. Bharti Airtel's subscriber gains pushed up mobile user count of the Sunil Mittal-led company to 36.60 crore in November. In sharp contrast, cash-strapped Vodafone Idea lost 18.27 lakh subscribers during the month in reference, tempering its subscriber base to 24.37 crore in November. As per TRAI data, the total broadband subscribers increased to 825.38 million at the end of November 2022 with a monthly growth rate of 0.47 per cent. Top five service providers constituted
The telecom sector's mobile subscriber net additions moderated to about 2.2 million (22 lakh) in April this year, with analysts blaming the 'muted' numbers on the second wave of COVID and lockdowns. After a strong fourth quarter of 2020-21, where the industry added 27.2 million subscribers, April was a "weak month" with only 2.2 million net additions, UBS said in its report on Tuesday. "We attribute this to the beginning of the second wave of COVID," a UBS note said. As per data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Bharti Airtel added only 0.5 million (5 lakh) subscribers in April, against 4.8 million net additions by larger rival Reliance Jio. Troubled Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) shed 1.8 million subscribers in April after showing some improving momentum in February and March. While Jefferies' report observed that the sector's reported subscriber additions had "moderated" to 2 million due to lockdowns, a note by ICICI Securities said user addition had slowed on .