TRAI data shows a decline in the wireless subscriber base in India

According to the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel added 1.7 million and 1.52 million subscribers, respectively, in December 2022. Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea lost 2.47 million subscribers, highlighting its financial struggles as the only private telecom provider yet to roll out its 5G network.

Reliance Jio’s user base grew to 424.51 million, while Airtel’s expanded to 367.60 million, cementing its market leadership in India. At the same time, the total number of wireless subscribers in the country decreased for the third time in four months, dropping to 1.142 billion from 1.143 billion the previous month. This decline was largely due to a fall in rural users, as the rural wireless user base fell to 515.89 million from 516.45 million.

However, the number of wireless subscriptions in urban areas increased to 627.03 million from 626.6 million. Reliance Jio also solidified its dominance in landline services, adding 0.29 million subscribers and taking its total landline base to 8.4 million. Meanwhile, Airtel added 0.14 million subscribers to end with 6.7 million subscribers.

According to TRAI data, Jio and Airtel have expanded their market shares in wireless customers to 37.14% and 32.16%, respectively, while Vodafone Idea’s share fell to 21.11%. The Visitor Location Register, which reflects the number of active users on a mobile network, revealed that Airtel had the highest proportion of active users at 99.29%, while Jio had 92.1% and Vi had 86.85% active users in December 2022.

The data also showed that both Airtel and Jio gained customers in rural India, while Vi lost a significant number. Airtel and Jio added 0.85 million and 0.54 million customers, respectively, while Vi lost 1.6 million customers in th ese areas.

In addition, the overall teledensity in India fell to 82.57% in December 2022 from 82.64% in November. TRAI data also showed an increase in the number of requests for mobile number portability, with cumulative requests reaching 784.43 million at the end of December 2022. Lastly, the wireline user base increased by 0.32 million subscribers from 2.71 million in November to 2.74 million in December 2022.