Vodafone Idea, the merged telco of Vodafone and idea cellular, in its Q2FY23 results, updated that the telco has 234.4 million subscribers as of September 30, 2022. In our earlier analysis, we examined how well the Priority circles are performing but couldn't include the September data as TRAI data was unavailable during that time. But as the subscriber numbers are in now, we have circle-wise data to check what's happening where with Vodafone Idea.
Vodafone Idea Wireless Subscribers as of September 30, 2022:
| Sl. No | Circle | Spectrum Holding (excluding 5G) | Jul 22 | Aug 22 | Sep 22 | Highest Downlink Speed Kbps (MySpeed Oct) | Highest Uplink Speed Kbps (MySpeed Oct) | Comments |
| 1 | Kerala | 114.8 MHz | 15,120,953 | 15,078,888 | 14,990,802 | Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops. | ||
| 2 | Mumbai | 91.2 MHz | 11,597,665 | 11,532,881 | 11,440,567 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 3 | Gujarat | 113.6 MHz | 23,746,631 | 23,683,216 | 23,266,733 | 138224 | Lost Subscribers. | |
| 4 | Haryana | 106 MHz | 7,800,804 | 7,771,735 | 7,729,482 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 5 | Maharashtra | 122.8 MHz | 27,466,723 | 26,908,840 | 26,351,731 | Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops. | ||
| 6 | UP - West | 92.4 MHz | 18,303,435 | 18,103,713 | 17,878,479 | Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops. | ||
| 7 | Kolkata | 84 MHz | 6,061,242 | 6,024,917 | 5,993,135 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 8 | Delhi | 71.2 MHz | 16,444,876 | 16,530,586 | 16,616,495 | Gained 85,909 Subscribers in sep. | ||
| 9 | West Bengal | 91.6 MHz | 15,561,404 | 15,410,317 | 15,221,878 | Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops. | ||
| 10 | Tamil Nadu | 62.8 MHz | 17,638,986 | 17,555,468 | 17,445,195 | 62628 | Lost Subscribers. Vi new Retail shops will be set up in Illupur, Palani, Usilampatti, Nagapattinam, Arakkonam, Thiruvallur, Ariyalur and others. | |
| 11 | Punjab | 81.2 MHz | 8,302,554 | 8,210,720 | 7,640,310 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 12 | UP - East | 91.2 MHz | 20,069,503 | 19,910,512 | 19,609,019 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 13 | Madhya Pradesh | 92 MHz | 19,404,464 | 19,166,403 | 18,318,854 | 108834 | 116332 | Lost Subscribers. |
| 14 | Rajasthan | 82.8 MHz | 10,835,672 | 10,750,310 | 10,609,215 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 15 | Andhra Pradesh | 60 MHz | 13,003,669 | 12,957,328 | 12,491,955 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| 16 | Karnataka | 60 MHz | 7,520,391 | 7,442,360 | 7,668,092 | Gained 225,732 subscribers in Sep. | ||
| 17 | Bihar | 55.6 MHz | 10,128,738 | 10,115,082 | 9,959,642 | Lost Subscribers. | ||
| Total 17 Circles | 249,007,710 | 247,153,276 | 243,231,584 | |||||
| Net Addition (17 circles) | -1,466,693 | -1,854,434 | -3,921,692 | |||||
| Total 22 Circles | 255,102,703 | 253,144,350 | 249,132,806 | Lost Subscribers Overall. | ||||
Vodafone Idea added wireless subscribers only in 2 of its 17 priority circles namely Delhi and Karnataka, with an addition of 311,641 subscribers.
Vodafone Idea Wireless Subscriber Base - Non-Priority Circles
You may be interested to also know about the wireless subscriber pattern in non-priority circles and so we have included them in a separate table below:
| Sl. No | Circle | Jul 22 | Aug 22 | Sep 22 | Comments |
| 18 | Assam | 2,364,854 | 2,316,904 | 2,264,284 | Lost Subscribers |
| 19 | North East | 1,062,224 | 1,036,909 | 1,023,214 | Lost Subscribers |
| 20 | Himachal Pradesh | 535,351 | 528,275 | 521,480 | Lost Subscribers |
| 21 | Odisha | 1,705,100 | 1,680,848 | 1,677,824 | Lost Subscribers |
| 22 | J & K | 427,464 | 428,138 | 414,420 | Lost Subscribers |
| Total Subscribers (22 circles) | 255,102,703 | 253,144,350 | 249,132,806 | ||
| Net Addition (22 circles) | -1,542,919 | -1,958,353 | -4,011,544 |
Vodafone Idea Wireless Subscribers:
The telco has lost wireless subscribers in 15 of its 17 priority circles. Overall, Vodafone Idea lost 4011,544 wireless subscribers across all the circles in September 2022. With a total VLR percentage of 85.17, Vodafone Idea had 212.19 million active users in Sep. Except for Delhi and Karnataka, Vi lost wireless subscribers in all of its circles.
Also Read: How Vodafone Idea’s Priority Circles are Performing Based on Subscriber Data
What Subscriber Loss Conveys:
Irrespective of the lucrative tariffs, this erosion of wireless subscribers has a message to convey - Subscribers are not happy with the service quality. This scenario makes us feel that subscribers are looking for quality than affordability.
Haryana and Odisha Circles:
Let's take the two circles where a competitor increased tariffs to assess any significant benefits to Vodafone Idea. If we consider Haryana Circle, this priority circle has been losing subscribers for the last three months (Jul, Aug, Sep). Odisha is not even a priority circle, and Vodafone Idea is losing subscribers in this circle too. So, we believe any immediate threat to attract subscribers from competition on the basis of quality is negligible.
TRAI MySpeed Result Oct:
We have also mapped the Data speeds captured by TRAI MySpeed against respective circles where the telco fared well. Vodafone Idea recorded the highest download peak speed of 138224 Kbps in Gujarat and the highest upload speed of 116332 Kbps in Madhya Pradesh.
Also Read: TRAI MySpeed October 2022 Data: Circle-wise Best Speed Sample Tabulated
Vodafone Idea Wireline Subscriber Base as of September:
| Sl. No | Service Area | Jul-22 | Aug-22 | Sep-22 | Comments |
| 1 | Andhra Pradesh | 71985 | 74615 | 75155 | Subscribers added. |
| 2 | Assam | 2760 | 2730 | 2730 | No Change. |
| 3 | Bihar | 1890 | 1980 | 1980 | No Change. |
| 4 | Delhi | 80500 | 83610 | 84590 | Subscribers added. |
| 5 | Gujarat | 47666 | 47566 | 49136 | Subscribers added. |
| 6 | Haryana | 360 | 360 | 360 | No Change. |
| 7 | Himachal Pradesh | 30 | 30 | 30 | No Change. |
| 8 | J & K | 30 | 30 | 30 | No Change. |
| 9 | Karnataka | 126992 | 123972 | 146012 | Subscribers added. |
| 10 | Kerala | 6960 | 6900 | 6810 | Lost Subscribers. |
| 11 | Kolkata | 14095 | 14175 | 14255 | Subscribers added. |
| 12 | Madhya Pradesh | 25365 | 25365 | 29365 | Subscribers added. |
| 13 | Maharashtra | 25893 | 26183 | 26463 | Subscribers added. |
| 14 | Mumbai | 171291 | 173266 | 174536 | Subscribers added. |
| 15 | North East | 330 | 360 | 360 | No Change. |
| 16 | Odisha | 3530 | 3530 | 3990 | Subscribers added. |
| 17 | Punjab | 2010 | 2040 | 2040 | No Change. |
| 18 | Rajasthan | 15270 | 15295 | 15385 | Subscribers added. |
| 19 | Tamil Nadu | 37920 | 37110 | 36980 | Lost Subscribers. |
| 20 | U.P.(E) | 16750 | 16720 | 16720 | No Change. |
| 21 | U.P.(W) | 3716 | 3708 | 3738 | Subscribers added. |
| 22 | West Bengal | 120 | 120 | 120 | No Change. |
| Total | 655463 | 659665 | 690785 | 31,120 Subscribers added. |
Vodafone Idea added 31,120 wireline Subscribers in 11 of its circles as of September 2022.
September 2022 Highlights:
- Recorded a -1.58% growth rate of wireless subscribers in the month of September.
- Market share of wireline subscribers as on September 2022 is 2.61%.
- Wireless Broadband Subscribers at the end of Sep 2022: 123.20 million.
- Market Share of Broadband (Wired + Wireless) Services: 15.09%
Conclusion:
The rate at which Vodafone Idea is losing subscribers is alarming, and we wonder, if not now, when is the time to act? While we expect an actionable to improve services and make use of the term 'Priority', it needs to be seen if the telco further tries to reduce tariff to control subscriber loss or follow an organic approach.
Also Read: Vodafone Idea Lowers Postpaid Tariffs, Can it Help Reduce Subscriber Churn
Also, Vodafone Idea, at many instances, opined that the industry tariffs are not sustainable. Now that a telco has already taken the lead, we need to see if Vodafone Idea will respond to market and help itself in improving its finances, enhance Network quality and arrest subscriber loss. Only time will tell if the current strategy followed by the telco will yield any results or continue the way it is. But if this continues without a definite timeline, we feel it's not only the subscribers but also the telecom sector that will be impacted in the country.
Note: Manual work is involved, and care is taken to avoid any errors. Please report in case of any corrections.
