August Exodus: Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, And Vodafone Idea Lose Millions Of Subscribers After July Tariff Hike; BSNL Gains Big

The major private player in the telecom industry such as Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea faced a significant setback in August 2024, as a result of the steep tariff hike in the early the early month of July, resulting to millions of subscribers to reconsider their choices once again.

As per the recent data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), it posted that these telecom giants collectively lost 8.3 million subscribers in August alone.

According to the data, for the second consecutive month, Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Jio bore the brunt, with 4.01 million users dropping their services. The list further followed by Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel losing 2.4 million. Similarly, Vodafone Idea reported 1.8 million users parting ways.

This comes as a direct result of the 11 to 25 per cent tariff increase that began affecting subscribers in July.

BSNL Gains Ground Amid Losses for Private Players

While the major private players in the industry struggled but the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) saw an upward tick in its fortunes.

The state run telecom operator added 2.53 million subscribers in August, marking the second month of subscriber growth.

India’s Net Subscriber Loss

On a national scale, India saw a total net loss of 5.77 million mobile subscribers in August, starkly rising from 0.92 million in July. The exodus from the three largest telecom firms reflects a broader trend, added the TRAI data.

The Leaders in Wired and Wireless Segments

Despite the losses in mobile subscribers, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel continue to dominate the broadband landscape. Here’s how broadband markets stand as of August:

Top Broadband Service Providers (Wired and Wireless)

Reliance Jio - 485.29 million

Bharti Airtel - 284.55 million

Vodafone Idea - 125.92 million

BSNL - 36.20 million

Atria Convergence Technologies - 2.27 million

Together, these providers account for 98.42 per cent of India’s broadband market. Jio’s dominance extends to both wired and wireless segments, although smaller players like Atria and Kerala Vision are also in a small scale expanding their footholds in wired broadband.

Wireline Subscriptions

India’s wireline subscriptions surged from 35.56 million in July to 36.23 million in August, with urban areas representing a 92.09 per cent of the subscriber base.

Rise of M2M Connections: Airtel Leads the Market

Machine-to-machine (M2M) cellular connections, which are essential for IoT and automation, also posted growth, surging from 53.67 million in July to 54.07 million in August.

Bharti Airtel lead the M2M space with 52.54 per cent market share, followed by Vodafone Idea at 27.18 per cent.

Jio and BSNL round out the segment with shares of 14.72 per cent and 5.56 per cent, respectively.