The latest monthly telecom subscriber details are out. Vodafone Idea added wireless mobile subscribers for the seventh consecutive month in August, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). However, it still trails Jio and Airtel.
Jio, Airtel lead August subscriber additions
Vodafone Idea added about 506,000 users during the month, taking its wireless mobile base to 199.57 million from 199.06 million at the end of July.
However, Reliance Jio added the most subscribers in August at about 2.40 million, which lifted its base to 508.43 million from 506.03 million. Bharti Airtel followed with 2.11 million additions and ended the month at 491.60 million, up from 489.49 million.
State-owned BSNL gained about 493,000 subscribers, while MTNL lost about 5,900.
Vodafone Idea’s subscriber growth trails rivals
Vodafone Idea’s monthly growth rate of 0.25% was the lowest among the four major operators, TRAI data showed. BSNL grew the fastest at 0.53%, followed by Jio at 0.47% and Airtel at 0.43%.
At the end of August, Vodafone Idea held 15.43% of the wireless mobile market. Jio’s share stood at 39.31% and Airtel’s at 38.01%, while BSNL held 7.24%.
Vodafone Idea loses subscribers in 6 circles
The gains were not uniform across the country. Vodafone Idea added subscribers in circles such as Gujarat, where its base rose to 20.32 million from 20.12 million, and Delhi, where it grew to 16.74 million from 16.54 million.
The annexure to the release shows that the company lost subscribers in six service areas, namely Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, the North East, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal. The declines in Maharashtra and the North East were marginal, while Uttar Pradesh (West) saw a fall of about 94,000.
Vodafone Idea’s active subscriber share at 83.84%
TRAI also tracks how many subscribers were active on the date of peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) in a month. For Vodafone Idea, 167.32 million of its 199.57 million subscribers were active, which works out to 83.84%. Airtel’s active share was 99.01% and Jio’s was 98.80%, while BSNL’s was 54.37%.
Across the industry, 1,207.59 million of the 1,293.43 million wireless mobile subscribers were active, or about 93.36%.
Vodafone Idea’s broadband base reaches 130.88 million
Vodafone Idea had 130.88 million broadband subscribers at the end of August, making it the third-largest provider behind Jio at 538.03 million and Airtel at 386.39 million. It also had 22.57 million M2M cellular connections, a 16.06% share of that segment, in which Airtel led with 86.06 million.
The overall wireless subscriber base, which includes mobile and Fixed Wireless Access, rose to 1,312.25 million, a monthly growth of 0.46%. Total telephone subscribers, including wireline, reached 1,360.70 million. Private operators held 92.75% of the wireless mobile market, with BSNL and MTNL together accounting for the remaining 7.25%.