Jio becomes the first Indian operator to cross 400 million subscribers in July 2020: TRAI Report

The fifth month of lockdown saw Reliance Jio become the first ever Indian telecom operator to cross the 400 million subscriber mark. Both Jio and Airtel showed healthy wireless subscriber addition figures while Vi continued the trend...

Read full article: Jio becomes the first Indian operator to cross 400 million subscribers in July 2020: TRAI Report

This thread is for the general discussion of the article. Please add to the discussion here.

 

[Esmail]

Thread open for discussion

 

[TJ_DJ]

I sometimes wonder how they managed to become 'largest' subscriber base operator when a large number of people are still using 2G-only phones, which is why Vi and Airtel are still continuing 2G networks.

Yes, for one, most people have Jio as secondary number, so it is doubling up on existing subscribers. But even in that case, it is a remarkable achievement.

I think the fact that Vi + Airtel is >Jio is what explains it.

 

[ghaju]

There is one more thing. If you have taken a Jio Sim 2 years back and not using it won't get deactivated.
I have 3 numbers which I don't use and i have made several attempts to Deactivate but still its in the system and the only option is to port out.
So this 400 million mark is a milestone that's for sure but what about Active Subscriber base!!

 

[sng_shivang]

With every month, the VLR is dropping few points and as of now, it stands at 312 million active subscribers (78%). VI has a VLR of 89% and Airtel has a VLR of whooping 97%.
Around 88 million numbers are currently lying idle. They could utilize some nice number series as such 9X which are already a rarity now.

 

[Esmail]

With every month, the VLR is dropping few points and as of now, it stands at 312 million active subscribers (78%). VI has a VLR of 89% and Airtel has a VLR of whooping 97%.
Around 88 million numbers are currently lying idle. They could utilize some nice number series as such 9X which are already a rarity now.

Ratings firm Fitch has said that the decreased VLR of Jio is due to migrant workers returning home and not recharging their Jio number, which they say is temporary and the numbers will become active once the workers return to the cities.
Brokerage Axis Capital has said that since Jio is a 4G only operator it has a large number of data only subscribers who use the sim in data cards which they switch on only at a specific time of the day when they need it. If these sims are switched off when TRAI is collecting the VLR data, they will register as inactive even if they are active. But the impact of this will be limited to a maximum of 5%, which means the actual VLR may be around 83%.

 

[kanagadeepan]

Esmail bro, isn't VoId the first operator to cross 40 Crore subscriber mark (almost 435 million), immediately after their merger on 31-Aug-2018?? But they moved downhill fast and are having almost less than 30 Crore subscribers now. So it may be right to call "Jio is the first Indian operator to cross 400 million and stay steadily there"

 

[Esmail]

Esmail bro, isn't VoId the first operator to cross 40 Crore subscriber mark (almost 435 million), immediately after their merger on 31-Aug-2018?? But they moved downhill fast and are having almost less than 30 Crore subscribers now. So it may be right to call "Jio is the first Indian operator to cross 400 million and stay steadily there"

Lol yes technically that is correct, they did cross the 400 million mark through merger and acquisition route, though Jio was the first operator to do so with purely organic growth. I've modified the article accordingly to reflect that. Even ET mentioned Jio as being the first operator to achieve that milestone.

 

[rohitvatsa]

Jio is Harshad Mehta of Telecom.They package the data in such a way that it presents a very rosy picture of their business.Not even 10% of contacts i have use jio sim and those who do are using it only for data.

 

[Vadirocks]

There is one more thing. If you have taken a Jio Sim 2 years back and not using it won't get deactivated.
I have 3 numbers which I don't use and i have made several attempts to Deactivate but still its in the system and the only option is to port out.
So this 400 million mark is a milestone that's for sure but what about Active Subscriber base!!

I Must Say, This Is One Of Major Reason!