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Following the tariff hike, TRAI statistics showed a precipitous decline in the number of active users for the three private telecom companies. During August, Jio's active subscriber base dropped 2.6 million to 181.63 million, while Airtel's dropped 1.67 million to 381.99 million.
According to data from the telecom regulator, a significant hike in tariff rate in early July caused Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea to lose a significant number of customers for the second consecutive month in August.
With 2.5 million new subscribers during that time, state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which chose not to raise rates, was the only telecom provider to see an increase in subscribers.
In August, Vodafone Idea lost 1.8 million customers, Bharti Airtel lost 2.4 million, and Reliance Jio lost 4.01 million. This follows an 11-25% hike in tariff rates by the three carriers in July.
Consequently, Jio's overall user base decreased from 475.76 million in August to 471.74 million in August. While Vodafone Idea's overall user base decreased to 214 million from 215.88 million in July, Airtel's gross user base dropped to 384.91 million in August from 387.32 million in July.
Due to the loss of subscribers, the market share of all three private telcos in their wireless subscriber base decreased.
Total wireless customers decreased from 1.169 billion at the end of July to 1.163 billion at the end of August, representing a monthly reduction of 0.49%, as a result of the pricing hike and the ensuing subscriber loss. Urban wireless subscribers fell from 635.46 million in July to 633.21 million in August, while rural subscribers fell from 534.15 million in July to 530.63 million in August.
Addition in 4G/5G users
According to TRAI data, the only operators that added high-speed 4G/5G users in August were Bharti Airtel and BSNL. While BSNL added 6.58 million 3G users, raising its subscriber base to 32 million in August, Airtel added 0.38 million 4G/5G users, increasing its customer base to 276.26 million. 4G services have not yet been commercially launched by BSNL.
The leading mobile provider, Reliance Jio, maintained its position with 40.53% of the market (40.68% in July), followed by Airtel with 33.07% (33.12% in July) and Vodafone Idea with 18.39% (18.46% in July). By August, BSNL's market share had increased from 7.59% to 7.84%.
The amount of mobile users who frequently utilise a mobile network is indicated by Trai's monthly active, or visitor location register (VLR), data.