Airtel, Reliance Jio get new mobile subscribers, BSNL suffers loss
Big telecom companies Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have gained new mobile subscribers in January. The number of net subscribers of government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) continues to decline. Last year, after the increase in tariffs of private telecom companies, the number of BSNL subscribers had increased for a few months. The company’s subscribers are decreasing due to the absence of 5G network and low availability of 4G network.
According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Bharti Airtel has gained about 16.5 lakh new subscribers in January. Reliance Jio has added about 6.86 lakh new subscribers. Vodafone Idea has lost 13.4 lakh users and BSNL has lost about 1.52 lakh users. The total number of broadband subscribers in January increased marginally to 9,451.6 lakh. At the end of January, Reliance Jio retained the first position in the wireless broadband market. After this, Bharti Airtel is ranked second.
The wireless broadband data of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel is based on the data of November last year as both these telecom companies have not given the updated number of their subscribers in the required format in the last two months. The number of broadband users of BSNL has come down to about 3.15 crores. The total number of wireless subscribers in the country at the end of January increased by about 0.05 percent to about 115.1 crores. Along with the increase in the number of subscribers of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, there has also been a growth in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).
India is one of the few countries in the world where there is no expensive tariff for telecommunication services. However, this situation may change soon. Big telecom companies can increase the tariff again by the end of this year. Recently, a media report quoted an analysis by international brokerage firm Bernstein that telecom companies can increase the tariff by 10-20 percent this year. This could be the fourth increase in tariff in the last six years. In July last year, telecom companies had increased tariffs by 25 percent. The main reason behind this was the need of capital by telecom companies to strengthen 4G networks and expand 5G networks.
