In Short:
Reliance Jio added the most active subscribers in May 2024, with Airtel also adding subscribers but Vi losing ground. Jio gained 3.5 million active users, Airtel gained 0.9 million, and Vi lost 1.7 million. Jio now has 437 million subscribers, Airtel has 384 million, and Vi has 191 million. Vi’s decline is attributed to lower ARPU segments due to increased prepaid tariffs. Jio and Airtel saw strong mobile broadband additions, while Vi’s base also grew slightly.
Reliance Jio Leads in Active Subscribers Addition in May 2024
According to brokerage firms, Reliance Jio was the top performer in adding active subscribers in May 2024, while Bharti Airtel showed moderate growth and Vodafone Idea (Vi) continued to lose ground. The decline in Vi’s active subscribers can be attributed to a sharp churn in the lower average revenue per user (ARPU) segments following a hike in entry-level prepaid tariffs.
Statistics and Analysis
Reliance Jio added 3.5 million active subscribers, Airtel added 0.9 million, and Vi lost 1.7 million in May. Jio’s active subscriber base now stands at 437 million, compared to Airtel’s 384 million and Vi’s 191 million. The visitor location register (VLR) ratio for Jio improved to 92.1%, while Airtel and Vi stood at 99.1% and 87.5% respectively.
The industry-wide active subscriber base increased by 2.1 million to 1,060 million, with Jio leading the pack with 475 million subscribers, followed by Airtel with 388 million and Vi with 218 million.
Industry Trends
Jio’s net subscriber numbers have been growing consistently for the past 27 months, while Vi continues to experience a decline in its subscriber base due to challenges in the lower ARPU segments.
Mobile broadband additions were strong for Bharti and Jio, while even Vi witnessed decent growth in this segment. However, Vi’s subscriber base has been fluctuating due to delays in its 5G rollout.
Mobile Number Porting and Churn Rates
The industry-wide mobile number porting (MNP) saw an increase of 8.6% month-on-month, with a churn rate of 1%. This indicates that Vodafone Idea’s users are switching to Jio and Airtel, further impacting Vi’s subscriber numbers.
