Jio, Airtel, Vi Suffer Major Subscriber Loss in August After Tariff Hikes – Only BSNL Gains

In August, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) saw a decline in subscribers for the second month in a row, largely due to tariff increases made in July, as reported by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). The three telecom giants raised their base tariffs by 11–25%, causing customers to leave.

• Reliance Jio: Lost 4.01 million subscribers in August, reducing its total user base to 471.74 million.
• Bharti Airtel: Lost 2.4 million subscribers, bringing its user base down to 384.91 million.
• Vodafone Idea (Vi): Lost 1.8 million subscribers, with its base decreasing to 214 million.

In contrast, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), the state-owned provider, did not increase tariffs and gained 2.5 million new subscribers, standing out as the only operator with a net increase.

Impact on Active User Base

The active user numbers, showing subscribers who regularly use the network (tracked via the Visitor Location Register or VLR), also declined. Airtel’s active subscribers fell by 1.67 million to 381.99 million, and Jio’s by 2.6 million to 181.63 million. Jio’s active base, however, climbed to 442.76 million, adding 2.03 million regular users by August end.

National Wireless Subscriber Decline

The overall wireless subscriber base shrank from 1.169 billion in July to 1.163 billion in August, a decrease of 0.49%. Urban areas dropped from 635.46 million to 633.21 million, and rural subscribers reduced from 534.15 million to 530.63 million, reflecting the larger impact of tariff increases.

Market Share and Network Growth

All three major players lost market share:

• Reliance Jio: Still leads with 40.53% market share, down slightly from 40.68%.
• Bharti Airtel: Holds 33.07%, marginally down from 33.12%.
• Vodafone Idea: Holds 18.39%, down from 18.46%.
• BSNL: Gained ground, with its share up to 7.84% from 7.59%.

In terms of high-speed network expansion, Bharti Airtel and BSNL were the only carriers to add 4G/5G users in August. Airtel added 0.38 million high-speed users, reaching 276.26 million subscribers, while BSNL, still rolling out 4G, gained 6.58 million 3G users, raising its base to 32 million.

Additionally, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), a relatively new market segment, grew by 9.39%, reaching 0.91 million users by August.