BSNL and Vodafone Idea Struggle with Ongoing Subscriber Loss

As the impact of tariff hikes implemented by private telecom operators in July 2024 began to diminish, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) continued to witness subscriber losses for the second consecutive month in December 2024.

According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), BSNL lost 316,599 subscribers in December, following a loss of 344,473 in November. Despite benefiting from its low tariff plans earlier in the year, which helped the operator gain nearly seven million mobile users between July and October, the trend reversed as customers moved back to private telcos.

Decline in BSNL's Total Subscriber Base

By the end of December 2024, BSNL’s total subscriber base declined to 91.72 million, down from 92.05 million at the end of November. Private telecom companies had previously noted in their quarterly earnings reports that subscriber movement from private players to BSNL had reversed. The company’s inability to retain customers despite its competitive pricing highlights ongoing challenges in network expansion and service quality.

Reliance Jio Gains the Most Subscribers

Reliance Jio emerged as the biggest winner in December 2024, adding 3.9 million new subscribers. This marked a significant increase compared to the 1.2 million additions recorded in November. With this growth, Jio's total subscriber base rose to 465.13 million in December, up from 461.2 million in the previous month. The telecom giant continues to strengthen its market dominance by offering extensive network coverage and affordable plans.

Bharti Airtel Reverses Subscriber Decline

Bharti Airtel successfully reversed its five-month-long trend of subscriber losses by adding 1.03 million users in December 2024. This increase brought Airtel’s total subscriber base to 385.3 million. The company’s strategic focus on premium customer acquisition and high-quality services contributed to this turnaround.

Vodafone Idea's Subscriber Base Continues to Shrink

Vodafone Idea (Vi) remained on a downward trajectory, losing 1.71 million subscribers in December 2024. This decline was steeper than the 1.5 million users lost in November. By the end of December, Vodafone Idea’s total subscriber base had reduced to 207.25 million. The company’s ongoing financial struggles, coupled with network challenges, have contributed to a continuous decline in customer retention.

Overall Growth in Mobile Subscriber Base

Despite the losses faced by BSNL and Vodafone Idea, the overall mobile subscriber base in India increased by 2.01 million in December 2024, reaching a total of 1.15 billion users. This growth was primarily driven by urban areas, which saw an addition of 2.75 million subscribers. In contrast, rural markets experienced a decline, with 740,000 fewer subscribers during the same period.

Market Share Analysis

The market share distribution of major telecom players saw notable shifts in December 2024:

• Reliance Jio: Increased to 40.42%, up from 40.15% in November.

• Bharti Airtel: Rose to 33.49%, compared to 33.45% in the previous month.

• Vodafone Idea: Declined to 18.01%, down from 18.19%.

• BSNL: Dropped to 7.99%, from 8.03% in November.

These figures indicate that Jio and Airtel continue to consolidate their market positions, while Vodafone Idea and BSNL struggle to maintain their customer bases.

Active Subscriber Base Trends

The active subscriber base, which accounts for 92.15% of the total wireless subscriber count, witnessed a marginal decline of 0.29 million in December, bringing the total to 1.06 billion. The operator-wise trends were as follows:

• Bharti Airtel: Gained 1.7 million active users, reaching 382.07 million.

• Reliance Jio: Lost 1.6 million active subscribers, settling at 445.6 million.

• Vodafone Idea: Saw a decline of 0.39 million, with an active user base of 176.51 million.

Growth in Fixed Wireless Subscribers

The number of fixed wireless subscribers grew by 1.03% in December 2024, reaching 5.21 million. However, TRAI noted that the data for Jio and Airtel’s internet subscriptions in December was unavailable, which could affect the overall fixed wireless growth figures.

Increase in Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Requests

During December 2024, approximately 13.85 million subscribers requested Mobile Number Portability (MNP). This brought the cumulative number of MNP requests to 1,079.19 million, compared to 1,065.35 million at the end of November 2024. The high volume of porting requests indicates a dynamic and competitive telecom market where users are frequently switching between service providers.