BSNL Soars with 2.9M New Customers in July After Jio, Airtel, Vi Raise Tariffs

In July, state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) gained 2.9 million mobile customers after private telecom companies like Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea raised their prices in early July.

According to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Reliance Jio lost 758,000 subscribers, Vodafone Idea lost 1.4 million, and Bharti Airtel saw the largest loss, with 1.7 million customers leaving in July.

As of July, Jio had 475.7 million users, Airtel had 387.3 million, Vodafone Idea had 215.8 million, and BSNL had 88.5 million. The total number of mobile phone users in India dropped to 1.16 billion in July, down from 1.17 billion in June.

Tariff Increases

The data for July was released in September due to a lag. In early July, Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea increased their mobile plan prices by 10-25%. Airtel and Jio limited unlimited 5G access to plans offering 2GB of data per day or more, raising entry-level 5G plan prices by 46%. Airtel also increased voice-only plan prices by 11% to ₹199, while Jio kept JioBharat and JioPhone plans unchanged. Price hikes for Airtel and Vodafone Idea ranged from 10-21%, while Jio’s hikes were higher at 12-25%.

These price hikes are expected to affect customers when they renew certain long-term plans, potentially causing some to switch providers or reduce the number of SIMs they use. Analysts predict the full impact of the price increases will be seen by the end of the current quarter and in the following quarter.

Customer Movement

Vodafone Idea’s CEO, Akshaya Moondra, mentioned that some customers switched to BSNL due to the price hikes but expected many to return, noting that BSNL’s 4G coverage isn’t as widespread as private telecoms.

BSNL is the only major telecom provider that hasn’t raised its prices. It currently offers 4G services in limited areas on a trial basis, with a larger 4G rollout planned for mid-2024.