In Short:
In February 2024, Airtel added more active mobile users than Jio, while Vi continued to lose users. Airtel and Jio added 1.51 million and 1.18 million active mobile users respectively, while Vi lost 1.11 million. Jio gained more wireless subscribers than Airtel, leading to an increase in India’s mobile user base. Jio also widened its market share in both mobile and landline segments.
New Delhi: According to the latest monthly customer data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Bharti Airtel gained more active mobile users than Reliance Jio in February 2024.
In that month, the telecom company led by Mukesh Ambani added a larger number of higher-paying 4G and 5G users compared to its closest competitor. On the other hand, Vodafone Idea continued to experience a decline in both active mobile users and 3G/4G users, as per the Trai report published on Monday.
Customer Data Overview
Airtel and Jio added 1.51 million and 1.18 million active mobile users respectively in February 2024, while Vi lost 1.11 million active users during the same period, as per the latest Trai data.
Airtel’s active user base increased to 382.6 million users, while Jio’s reached 426.79 million users. In contrast, Vi’s active user base decreased to 193.85 million users according to Trai data.
Wireless Broadband User Data
In terms of wireless broadband users, Jio and Airtel added 3.6 million and 2.27 million 4G/5G users respectively in February, while Vi lost 0.2 million 3G/4G users. It is worth noting that Vi is yet to roll out 5G networks.
Gross Customer Additions
Jio gained more gross wireless subscribers than Airtel, with Jio adding 3.59 million and 1.53 million wireless subscribers respectively in February 2024. Meanwhile, Vi continued to face customer losses, resulting in its gross mobile user base shrinking further by 1.02 million to 220.5 million users. Jio and Airtel’s gross user bases were higher at 467.58 million and 384.01 million users in February.
Market Share and User Base Growth
Trai data also revealed that Jio widened its customer market share to 40.15%, while Airtel’s market share marginally increased to 32.97% and Vi’s declined to 18.93%. The combined gains of Airtel and Jio led to India’s mobile user base growing to 1.164 billion users by the end of January.
Overall, wireless tele-density increased to 85.64% at the end of February from 85.38% at the end of January.
Landline Segment
In the landline segment, Jio continued to lead by consolidating its market position in February. The telco added 0.34 million wireline users, bringing its total landline user base to 11.63 million. Airtel, ranked second, added 0.15 million wireline users, raising its total to approximately 8.57 million. On the other hand, state-owned BSNL lost 0.015 million users, resulting in a total wireline user base of 6.49 million users, as per Trai data.
