Reliance Jio has been lagging behind Bharti Airtel for the past five months in overall net subscriber addition and even 4G users. Interestingly, it is Bharti Airtel which has gained the most when it comes to grabbing users who are leaving Vodafone Idea’s network.
As per data sourced from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Airtel has increased its wireless subscriber market share to 29.36% in December 2020 from 27.96% in July 2020. During the same period, Jio’s market share changed marginally to 35.43% in December from 35.03% in July.
Vodafone Idea’s share decreased to 24.64% in December from 26.34% in July. The data indicates that Airtel is the one benefitting from loss of Vodafone Idea as even state-run BSNL has seen its share remaining stagnant. BSNL’s market share stood at 10.37% in July, which decreased marginally to 10.29% in December.
When it comes to active wireless subscribers (VLR), Airtel has regained the leadership position from Jio in December. As per a report by Nomura, Airtel’s VLR subscribers increased by 5.5 million to 328.9 million, improving its share to 33.7%, as it continues to have highest VLR level at 97.1%.
Jio’s VLR subscribers increased by 3.2 million to 328 million, amounting a share of 33.6% with a VLR level of 80.3%. Vodafone Idea’s VLR subscribers declined for the 26th consecutive month, losing 1.5 million users, which led to a decline in its market share to 26.3%.
The churn happening in the market can be gauged from the requests related to mobile number portability. In December, a total of 8.20 million requests were received for MNP. Ever since July, the MNP requests are hovering over 7 million per month, meaning customers are fast changing operators. The over 300 million 2G customers are up for grabs but so far, Airtel is the one benefitting the most. When it comes to getting new users, the market has already saturated with 1,153.77 million wireless customers. Telcos now need to grab customers from each other by offering better deals.