The 4G subscriber additions for telecom operators – Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea – rose to a two-year high at 7.1 million in August, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed. The increase in the 4G susbcriber base can be attributed to an uptick in migration from 2G to 4G, adoption of JioBharat and telcos’ focus on premiumisation, analysts said.
At 3.2 million, Reliance Jio continues to lead 4G subscriber addition for the sixth straight month in August. Airtel and Vodafone Idea added 2.6 million and 1.3 million subscribers, respectively.
As of August-end, Jio’s subscriber base, which only has 4G users, was at 445.7 million, while the same for Airtel and Vodafone Idea stood at 247 million and 125.5 million, respectively, Trai data showed.
“Notably, the 3G/4G subscriber additions during the first two months of 2QFY24 (July-September) alone were more than the 3G/4G subscriber additions over each of the previous two quarters – indicating a strong momentum on this front,” said Jeferries in a note. According to the brokerage, Airtel’s focus on 4G subscribers and the steady adoption of JioBharat are reasons behind this acceleration.
Even as Vodafone Idea added 1.3 million 4G subscribers in August, analysts said the market share continues to shift towards Airtel and Jio, and this indicates sustained pressure on Vodafone Idea to roll out 5G services. In 2023 till August, Vodafone Idea added 1.7 million 4G subscribers, compared to 18.2 million and 21.2 million by Airtel and Jio, respectively.
“An addition of 1.8 million 4G subscribers during July-September is the highest in the last eight quarters. We continue to focus on getting more customers on 4G/unlimited plans for further Arpu improvements,” Akshaya Moondra, CEO of Vodafone Idea, said during the earnings call earlier this month.
As of August-end, total wireless broadband or 3G/4G subscribers stood at 839.13 million, up from 831.54 million in July. Jio has the largest market share of 53%, followed by Airtel at 29.4%, and Vodafone Idea at 14.9%, data showed.
“Bharti’s mobile broadband (4G) subscriber base (growth) will aid premiumisation, benefitted by rural expansion. It will help sustain the decent Arpu growth in the absence of a tariff hike,” ICICI Securities said in a note.
Besides 4G subscriber additions, telcos’ overall active subscribers base fell by 3 million in August, the highest decline in nine months. As of August-end, a total 1.043 billion or 91% of the total wireless subscribers were active. At 1.2 million, Reliance Jio was the only operator to gain active subscribers in August, while Airtel lost 0.4 million users and Vodafone Idea lost 2.9 million active subscribers.
Airtel’s active user base was at 375.5 million, while that of Jio was 417.1 million. Vodafone Idea’s total active subscriber base was at 199.38 million, while that of BSNL was at 50.5 million.
According to Jeferries, the decline in active subscribers in August seems to be temporary as it is only second such phenomenon in the last nine months.