Vodafone Idea Lost Subscribers in All of its Circles Except Delhi and Karnataka: TRAI Data

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has been continuously losing subscribers despite providing PAN-India 4G service. The telco holds 5G Spectrum, but the timeline for 5G Rollout is not yet announced by the telco. Vodafone Idea lost wireless subscribers in all of its circles except Delhi and Karnataka. Vodafone Idea recorded the highest download peak speed of 138224 Kbps in Gujarat and the highest upload speed of 116332 Kbps in Madhya Pradesh, according to TRAI MySpeed Oct Data.

Highlights

  • Vodafone Idea (Vi), the third-largest telecom service provider in India, lost 4,011,544 wireless subscribers in the month of September 2022.
  • Only Delhi and Karnataka Circles have seen an addition of 311,641 wireless subscribers.
  • Vodafone Idea added 31,120 wireline Subscribers in 11 of its circles as of September 2022.

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Vodafone Idea Lost Subscribers in All of its Priority Circles Except Karnataka: TRAI Data

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. NoCircleSpectrum Holding (excluding 5G)Jul 22Aug 22Sep 22Highest Downlink Speed Kbps (MySpeed Oct)Highest Uplink Speed Kbps (MySpeed Oct)Comments
1Kerala114.8 MHz15,120,95315,078,88814,990,802
Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops.
2Mumbai91.2 MHz11,597,66511,532,88111,440,567Lost Subscribers.
3Gujarat113.6 MHz23,746,63123,683,21623,266,733138224Lost Subscribers.
4Haryana106 MHz7,800,8047,771,7357,729,482Lost Subscribers.
5Maharashtra122.8 MHz27,466,72326,908,84026,351,731
Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops.
6UP - West92.4 MHz18,303,43518,103,71317,878,479
Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops.
7Kolkata84 MHz6,061,2426,024,9175,993,135Lost Subscribers.
8Delhi71.2 MHz16,444,87616,530,58616,616,495Gained 85,909 Subscribers in sep.
9West Bengal91.6 MHz15,561,40415,410,31715,221,878
Lost Subscribers. Vi introduced new format Vi Shops.
10Tamil Nadu62.8 MHz17,638,98617,555,46817,445,19562628
Lost Subscribers. Vi new Retail shops will be set up in Illupur, Palani, Usilampatti, Nagapattinam, Arakkonam, Thiruvallur, Ariyalur and others.
11Punjab81.2 MHz8,302,5548,210,7207,640,310Lost Subscribers.
12UP - East91.2 MHz20,069,50319,910,51219,609,019Lost Subscribers.
13Madhya Pradesh92 MHz19,404,46419,166,40318,318,854108834116332Lost Subscribers.
14Rajasthan82.8 MHz10,835,67210,750,31010,609,215Lost Subscribers.
15Andhra Pradesh60 MHz13,003,66912,957,32812,491,955Lost Subscribers.
16Karnataka60 MHz7,520,3917,442,3607,668,092Gained 225,732 subscribers in Sep.
17Bihar55.6 MHz10,128,73810,115,0829,959,642Lost Subscribers.
Total 17 Circles249,007,710247,153,276243,231,584
Net Addition (17 circles)-1,466,693-1,854,434-3,921,692
Total 22 Circles255,102,703253,144,350249,132,806Lost 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. NoCircleJul 22Aug 22Sep 22Comments
18Assam2,364,8542,316,9042,264,284Lost Subscribers
19North East1,062,2241,036,9091,023,214Lost Subscribers
20Himachal Pradesh535,351528,275521,480Lost Subscribers
21Odisha1,705,1001,680,8481,677,824Lost Subscribers
22J & K427,464428,138414,420Lost Subscribers
Total Subscribers (22 circles)255,102,703253,144,350249,132,806
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 ReadTRAI MySpeed October 2022 Data: Circle-wise Best Speed Sample Tabulated

Vodafone Idea Wireline Subscriber Base as of September:

Sl. NoService AreaJul-22Aug-22Sep-22Comments
1Andhra Pradesh719857461575155Subscribers added.
2Assam276027302730No Change.
3Bihar189019801980No Change.
4Delhi805008361084590Subscribers added.
5Gujarat476664756649136Subscribers added.
6Haryana360360360No Change.
7Himachal Pradesh303030No Change.
8J & K303030No Change.
9Karnataka126992123972146012Subscribers added.
10Kerala696069006810Lost Subscribers.
11Kolkata140951417514255Subscribers added.
12Madhya Pradesh253652536529365Subscribers added.
13Maharashtra258932618326463Subscribers added.
14Mumbai171291173266174536Subscribers added.
15North East330360360No Change.
16Odisha353035303990Subscribers added.
17Punjab201020402040No Change.
18Rajasthan152701529515385Subscribers added.
19Tamil Nadu379203711036980Lost Subscribers.
20U.P.(E)167501672016720No Change.
21U.P.(W)371637083738Subscribers added.
22West Bengal120120120No Change.
Total65546365966569078531,120 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.

Reported By

Telecom Analyst

Passionately following the Indian #Telecom Industry for over a decade from Business, Consumer and a Technical perspective. My primary focus area is Consumer & Digital Experience.

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