The total mobile user additions in July at 2.7 million were the highest in last 13 months in the country, according to data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
The growth in subscriber base was contributed by telecom operators Jio and Airtel.
An overall net increase in subscriber base suggests a rise in mobile penetration in the country and that telecom companies can prepare for next leg of tariff hikes, according to analysts.
The total mobile subscriber base was at 1.146 billion as of July end.
Among the telcos, Reliance Jio’s subscriber additions were also the highest in last one year, while Airtel’s subscriber additions were highest in last six months.
Jio added 3.9 million mobile subscribers, taking its total base to 442.5 million, whereas Airtel added 1.52 million subscribers, and its mobile user base as of July end was at 375.24 million.
In the wireline segment too, Jio continues to lead.
The operator, for the first time, crossed 10 million wireline subscribers in July, Trai data showed.
Both Airtel and Jio are also gaining subscribers as Vodafone Idea continues to lose subscribers for the 28th straight month in July.
Trai data suggests that for the first time, Vodafone Idea’s market share fell below 20%.
In July, the company lost 1.3 million subscribers, taking its total base to 228.3 million.
State-owned BSNL lost wireless subscribers for the 19th straight month.
In July, the company lost 1.4 million wireless subscribers, taking its total base to 98 million.
While for BSNL, the subscriber loss is due to absence of 4G services, for Vodafone Idea the absence of funding as well as 5G services, weak spends on the network is leading to subscriber loss, according to analysts.
As of July-end, Reliance Jio has a wireless subscribers’ market share of 38.60%, up from 38.35% in June.
In comparison, Bharti Airtel’s market share rose to 32.74% from 32.68% in June, whereas Vodafone Idea’s share fell to 19.92% from 20.08% in the wireless subscribers’ segment.
As per the TRAI data, barring Punjab, Kolkata, and Andhra Pradesh, all other service areas have shown growth in their wireless subscribers during July. In urban areas, the overall mobile subscriber rose to 628.55 million from 626.07, whereas the rural subscriber base rose to 517.69 million from 517.51 million.
Of the total 1.146 billion subscribers, 1.046 billion or 91.29% were active, according to the peak visitor location register, which shows the number of active subscribers, including those roaming on a mobile operator’s network.
The total active subscriber base during the month rose by 3.6 million.
While for Airtel, all its subscribers were active during the month, whereas Jio’s active subscribers base was at 415.94 million, with an addition of 1.4 million active subscribers during the month.
Vodafone Idea and BSNL continue to lose active subscribers by 413,345 and 364,300, respectively, during the month.
Vodafone Idea’s total active subscriber base was at 202.3 million, while that of BSNL was at 51.6 million.
With regard to the 4G subscriber base, both Jio and Airtel added 6.8 million subscribers, whereas Vodafone Idea lost 0.6 million subscribers in July.
4G subscriber additions for Airtel and Jio came on the back of the shift in the subscriber base from 2G as well as loss of subscribers by Vodafone Idea, according to analysts.
Since Jio’s network is completely on 4G from the start, its 4G subscriber addition is the same as that of total additions. Airtel added 2.9 million 4G subscribers, taking its total 4G subscribers to 244.41 million.
Vodafone Idea’s 4G subscriber base was at 124.27 million as of July-end.
Airtel’s wireline subscriber base at the end of July was at 7.6 million, whereas BSNL’s subscriber base in the segment was at 6.4 million. During the month, BSNL lost 41,779 users in the wireline segment, whereas Airtel added 150,311 users.
Jio’s subscriber base in wireline rose to over 10 million, with addition to 197,129 subscribers.