Jio Adds Highest Wireless Subscribers In August, BSNL Sees Suprise Addition: TRAI
In sharp contrast, Vodafone Idea remained in negative territory, losing 3.09 lakh mobile users in August.
India's telecom sector added 35.19 lakh new subscribers in August, taking the total user base to 1,167.03 million, according to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Monday. India's broadband subscribers in August stood at 989.58 million.
Reliance Jio continues to dominate the market, adding 19.49 lakh wireless subscribers in August. Jio however saw a 15.51 lakh decline in its wireline subscribers during August.
With nearly 41.08% market share in mobile services, the company remains a key driver of growth in the sector and a bellwether for telecom-focused investors.
Bharti Airtel reported a net addition of 4.96 lakh mobile subscribers. The telco also maintained its wired subscriber base with an addition of 1.08 lakh subscribers and more than 22.72% market share.
This underscores Airtel’s strong positioning in the enterprise and IoT ecosystem, which continues to attract investor interest amid the growing digital transformation across industries.
In sharp contrast, Vodafone Idea remained in negative territory, losing 3.09 lakh mobile users in August. The continued decline in user base is a concerning trend for the cash-strapped telecom company. With mounting AGR dues and operational strain, Vi’s losses could weigh further on investor sentiment.
State-run BSNL on the other hand, reversed some of the lost subscribers from last month as it saw an addition of 13.85 lakh subscribers in August. MTNL, however continued to bleed subscribers. Public sector telcos now account for less than 8% of the mobile subscriber market.
The overall urban subscriber base stood at 686.79 million (56.09%) while rural users made up 537.75 million (43.91%). Urban tele-density reached 134.51%, while rural areas lagged at 59.31%, highlighting the gap that telcos can still tap into.
With TRAI data showing Jio and Airtel on divergent growth paths from Vodafone Idea and PSUs, the data serves as a key monitorable for telecom stocks amid ongoing sectoral consolidation and 5G monetisation efforts.
