Airtel, Vodafone Lose Over 94 Lakh Subscribers in May: TRAI

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea continue their streak of losing subscribers in the month of May, with a total number of 56.11 lakh wireless subscribers lost. Reliance Jio continued its winning streak with a more than 36.577 lakh subscriber additions. BSNL also surprisingly saw wireless subscriber additions, albeit marginally at 2 lakh subscribers. TRAI's latest telecom subscription data suggests that total wireless subscribers saw a decrease from 114.952 crores at the end of April to 114.391 crores at the end of May.

The TRAI report suggests that Bharti Airtel saw a decrease of 47.428 lakh subscribers whereas Vodafone Idea saw a loss of 47.263 lakh subscribers in the month of May. Collectively, Vodafone Idea and Airtel lost more than 94 lakh subscribers in one month. This is more than what the two telcos lost in the month of April, wherein they collectively lost over 75 lakh wireless subscribers. Ever since Reliance Jio's entry into the telecom sector, these telcos have been losing their market share consistently. As mentioned, Reliance Jio added 36.577 lakh subscribers and BSNL added 2.015 lakh subscribers in the same month.

Vodafone Idea and Airtel lost a lot of subscribers in the month of May
Photo Credit: TRAI

Reliance Jio's market share stands at 34.33 percent, Bharti Airtel comes in second at 27.78 percent market share and Vodafone Idea hold about 27.09 percent market share. BSNL comes in fourth with a 10.50 percent market share.

Coming to broadband, the number of subscribers in this segment increased from 67.614 crores at the end of April of 68.377 crores at the end of May, showing a monthly growth rate of 1.13 percent.

In the wireless segment, Jio rules with 39.275 crore subscribers, Airtel comes in second with 14.355 crore subscribers, and Vodafone Idea with 11.305 crore subscribers. In the wired segment, BSNL enjoys the top spot with 24.1 lakh subscribers, Atria Convergence Technologies has 16.4 lakh subscribers, and Hathway and Jio enjoy 9.7 lakh subscribers each.

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Tasneem Akolawala Email Tasneem Tasneem Akolawala is a Senior Reporter for Gadgets 360. Her reporting expertise encompasses smartphones, wearables, apps, social media, and the overall tech industry. She reports out of Mumbai, and also writes about the ups and downs in the Indian telecom sector. Tasneem can be reached on Twitter at @MuteRiot, and leads, tips, and releases can be sent to tasneema@ndtv.com. More