Indian telecom service providers Bharti Airtel (Airtel), BSNL/MTNL, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) lost wireless subscribers in November 2024, while Reliance Jio (Jio) remained the only telecom operator to gain wireless subscribers during the month, according to TRAI's Telecom Subscription Data as of 30th November 2024. The data shows that the total number of wireless subscribers decreased from 1,150.42 million at the end of October 2024 to 1,148.65 million at the end of November 2024, marking a monthly decline rate of 0.15 percent.
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Gain and Loss of Wireless Subscribers
Reliance Jio, the largest telecom service provider, was the only operator to experience an increase in overall wireless subscribers in November 2024, adding 1.21 million (1,212,536) subscribers. Other private operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, lost 1.14 million (1,136,785) and 1.5 million (1,502,255) wireless subscribers, respectively. Public sector units (PSUs) BSNL and MTNL lost 344,473 and 2,720 wireless subscribers, respectively.
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Wireless Market Share of Operators
As of November 30, 2024, private access service providers held a 91.80 percent market share of wireless subscribers, while BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU service providers, had a combined market share of only 8.20 percent. This translates to Reliance Jio holding a 40.15 percent market share with 461.23 million wireless subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 33.45 percent market share and 384.27 million wireless subscribers, Vodafone Idea with an 18.19 percent market share and 208.98 million wireless subscribers, BSNL with an 8.03 percent market share and 92.05 million wireless subscribers, and MTNL with a 0.17 percent market share and 1.9 million wireless subscribers.
Wireless Broadband Subscribers
Reliance Jio reported 465.10 million wireless broadband subscribers as of November 30, 2024, followed by Bharti Airtel, which reported 280.76 million, Vodafone Idea with 124.78 million, and BSNL with 32.68 million subscribers.
Wired Market Share
Wireline subscribers increased from 37.79 million at the end of October 2024 to 38.50 million at the end of November 2024. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.72 million, with a monthly growth rate of 1.89 percent. BSNL (with 6,088,450 wireline subscribers) lost 9,355 subscribers, MTNL (with 2,054,160 wireline subscribers) lost 9,988 subscribers, and APSFL (with 634,544 wireline subscribers) lost 2,264 subscribers. These three PSU access service providers held 22.80 percent of the wireline market share as of November 30, 2024.
In the wireline segment, Reliance Jio held a 42.33 percent market share with 16,299,428 wireline subscribers, adding 614,490 subscribers in the month. Bharti Airtel had a 25.15 percent share with 9,684,633 wireline subscribers, adding 142,202 subscribers during the month, and Vodafone Idea reported a 2.21 percent market share with 852,107 wireline subscribers, adding 4,012 subscribers during the month.
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M2M Cellular Connections
According to the report, the number of M2M (Machine-to-Machine) cellular mobile connections increased from 56.12 million at the end of October 2024 to 57.57 million at the end of November 2024. Bharti Airtel has the highest number of M2M cellular mobile connections at 29.58 million, holding a market share of 51.39 percent, followed by Vodafone Idea with 26.47 percent, Reliance Jio with 16.75 percent, and BSNL with 5.40 percent.
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Active Wireless Subscribers
Out of the total 1,148.65 million wireless subscribers, 1,060.63 million were active on the date of peak VLR (Visitor Location Register) in November 2024, according to TRAI. Airtel reported a peak VLR of 98.99 percent during the month, BSNL 60.34 percent, Vodafone Idea (Vi) 84.65 percent, MTNL 25.51 percent, and Reliance Jio 96.96 percent. Active wireless subscribers are based on VLR data.
