In Short:
In June 2024, Reliance Jio gained almost 4 million new active users, outpacing Bharti Airtel’s modest 0.67 million additions, while Vodafone Idea lost 2.71 million users. Jio and Airtel also saw more high-paying 4G/5G users, with Jio commanding a market share of 40.71%. Meanwhile, Airtel struggled with rate hikes, and Vi continued to lose customers.
Subscriber Growth Overview
Reliance Jio significantly outpaced Bharti Airtel in adding active users during June 2024, with Jio acquiring nearly 4 million new users compared to Airtel’s modest addition of 0.67 million users. Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea (Vi) continued to experience a decline in active users, losing approximately 2.71 million during the same period, as reported by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
Active User Statistics
As per the latest data from Trai, the active user bases for Jio, Airtel, and Vi stood at 440.94 million, 384.83 million, and 188.26 million, respectively, at the end of June. It is noteworthy that the active user count, also known as the visitor location register (VLR), reflects the number of mobile users consistently utilizing a mobile network.
4G/5G User Addition
Trai’s statistics on wireless broadband usage revealed that during June, Airtel added 3.17 million 4G/5G users while Jio added 1.91 million. In contrast, Vi managed to attract only 0.56 million new 3G/4G users and has yet to launch 5G services. Jio and Airtel have successfully implemented 5G services nationwide, boasting 130 million and 90 million pure 5G users, respectively, as of the quarter ending June 2024.
Gross Customer Additions and Market Shares
In terms of gross customer additions, Jio surpassed Airtel with 1.91 million new mobile users against Airtel’s 1.25 million, reflecting Airtel’s struggles due to previous hikes in its base prepaid rates. Conversely, Vi suffered a net loss, resulting in a decrease of 0.86 million in its mobile user base, now totaling 217.29 million.
Following this, Jio increased its market share to 40.71%, while Airtel saw its share rise to 33.23%. Vi’s market share narrowed to 18.56%, a consequence of ongoing customer attrition. The overall wireless tele-density also improved, reaching 83.45% in June 2024, while India’s total mobile user base grew by 0.13% to 1.17 billion.
Landline Segment Performance
According to the latest Trai data, Jio strengthened its market leadership in the landline segment by adding 0.43 million wireline users, increasing its landline user base to 13.19 million. Airtel, in the second position, added a modest 44,611 users to bring its wireline user total to approximately 9.05 million. Conversely, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) lost another 60,644 landline users, further reducing its base to 6.36 million.
M2M Cellular Mobile Connections
Trai’s data also noted that Airtel holds the leading position in M2M cellular mobile connections, totaling 28.29 million, capturing nearly 54% of the market. In comparison, Vi and Jio maintained 14.58 million and 6.72 million M2M cellular mobile connections, showing market shares of approximately 27.8% and 12.8%, respectively. Overall, the total base of M2M cellular mobile connections reached 52.52 million by the end of June.
Mobile Number Portability Requests
Furthermore, Trai reported that 11.84 million users submitted requests for mobile number portability in June, bringing the cumulative requests to 997.44 million, up from 985.60 million at the end of May.
