Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom operator in the country, is the only private telco to gain market share in the last year since tariff hikes. Neither Jio nor Vodafone Idea (Vi) can say this. The data we have taken comes from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). Note that here, we are talking about solely either wireless or wireline, but both. So we are talking about the combined broadband (wireless and wireline) market share performance in the last one year.
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After tariff hikes, the consumers usually switch their operators in anger, or also shut down their old SIMs. This leads to a higher churn for the telcos and also there's SIM consolidation in the industry. The true effects of tariff hikes on the business can only be seen in the medium to long term. While all the operators saw an increase average revenue per user (ARPU) figure, which is good, only Airtel gained in the broadband market share segment.
Airtel Did Something Jio, Vi Couldn't
Airtel's market share of broadband services at the end of August 2024, the next month after tariff hike was 29.98%. Just a year later, that figure now stands at 31.25%. This means a market share gain of 1.27%. Reliance Jio's market share declined from 51.13% to 50.66% in this timeframe, indicating a decline of 0.47%. This is not a major decline, but it still indicates a problem for Jio. Regardless, Jio has been increasing its customer base fast and well, still has 50% of the broadband market in India.
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Jio wouldn't take this as a huge problem in the short-term. The telco's aim would be to maximise profits by increasing margins. This is because Jio is looking to go for a public listing in the markets in the first half of 2026. Vodafone Idea's broadband market share in the same time frame came down from 13.27% to 12.88%.
