Bharti Airtel Adds Most Active Subscribers In September

Bharti Airtel Ltd. added the highest active subscribers in September, maintaining its lead in regularly paying users among peers.

Bharti Airtel.’s active user base, or those who regularly renew subscription, rose 3.8 million or 1.2% month-on-month in September, according to data by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. It has 96.90% active users.

Active user base for Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. rose 0.2% or by 0.7 million sequentially, while it fell by 3.5 million or 1.3% for Vodafone Idea Ltd.

Bharti Airtel also added the most gross subscribers at 3.8 million, with its user base growing for the third straight month. Reliance Jio, too, added gross subscribers, while Vodafone Idea saw a decline.

The overall industry’s active wireless subscribers increased for the second straight month but at a slower pace.

Active Subscribers

Bharti Airtel continues to lead with the highest proportion of active users.

Inactive Subscribers

The gap between Jio's gross and active subscribers widened in September. Bharti Airtel's inactive subscribers remained constant at around 10 million in the last three months. Compared with August, Vodafone’s inactive subscribers fell.

Jio No. 1 In Market Share

Despite slower subscriber growth, Jio maintained the top position for the third straight month. Airtel’s active market share was up 40 basis points. Vodafone has been consistently losing its active market share.