The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently released its data on subscribers for January 2023. Overall active subscribers across Industry rose by 3.9 million Month on Month to 1,025 million, with Bharti Airtel adding around 1.3 million wireless subscribers. Bharti Airtel Mobile Broadband (MBB) subscribers also rose by 2.8 million, and its market share expanded to 29.9% on an active basis.
Also Read: Bharti Airtel Likely to Spend Rs 454 bn on 5G over FY23-25E: ICICI Securities
Active Subscriber Base not impacted by Tariff Hike
According to the Report by ICICI Securities, Bharti Airtel's active subscriber base addition has not decelerated despite the rise in entry-level Tariffs. Airtel increased its entry-level tariffs first in 2 circles, followed by the rest of the circles in minimum recharge from Rs 99 to Rs 155.
Airtel's active subscriber base rose 1.3 million to 366 million, while Mobile Broadband (MBB) subscriber base increased to 232 million in January. In December, the MBB subscriber base was 229 million. The report said this will aid the premiumisation of services, benefitted from rural expansion. In addition, this growth in subscriber base would help sustain ARPU growth in the absence of a tariff hike.
Also Read: Bharti Airtel Hikes Entry-Level Tariffs in Two More Circles
Wired Broadband Segment
In the wired broadband subscriber base, Bharti added 0.14 million subscribers, and Airtel's market share increased to 17.7 per cent, up 2 Bps Month on Month.
Bharti Airtel holds 32.3% of the total subscriber market share, with 178 million rural subscribers, which is around 34.6% rural market share. According to the report, Bharti Airtel's churn remains under control, although it is expected to rise in the coming months.
