Bharti Airtel added the highest number of wireless broadband subscribers, with 3.98 million in November 2023, followed by Reliance Jio with 3.45 million and Vodafone Idea with 0.96 million, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report as of November 30, 2023. This brings Reliance Jio's wireless broadband subscribers in India to 455.82 million, Bharti Airtel to 255.07 million, Vodafone Idea to 126.63 million, and BSNL to 20.85 million.
Also Read: Vodafone Idea Surprises with Active Wireless User Addition in Sep 2023
Wireless Broadband Subscribers
Wireless broadband users refer to 3G/4G/5G subscribers. Since operators are phasing out 3G or don't offer 3G services anymore, such as Airtel, these wireless broadband subscribers refer to 4G/5G users in the case of Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio.
Total Wireless Subscribers
Regarding wireless subscribers, TRAI reports that the total number of wireless subscribers at the end of November 2023 was 1,154.17 million, with a monthly growth rate of 0.28 percent. Of the total wireless subscribers, the number of active wireless subscribers on the date of peak VLR in November 2023 was 1,045.95 million.
Telco Specific Wireless Subscribers
During the same period, Bharti Airtel added 1.74 million wireless subscribers, bringing the total wireless subscriber base to 379.88 million. Vodafone Idea lost 1.07 million wireless subscribers, continuing its subscriber losing streak, reducing its wireless subscriber base to 224.41 million.
BSNL lost 0.93 million wireless subscribers in November, further reducing its subscriber base to 91.93 million. MTNL lost 4242 wireless subscribers, bringing its subscriber base to 1.94 million. Reliance Jio added 3.44 million wireless subscribers, bringing its subscriber base across all circles to 455.81 million.
Also Read: Vodafone Idea Loses Over 2 Million Wireless Subscribers, Continuing a 23-Month Streak: TRAI
Market Share
Reliance Jio holds 39.49 percent of the market share, Bharti Airtel holds 32.91 percent, Vodafone Idea holds 19.44 percent, BSNL holds 7.98 percent, and MTNL holds 0.17 percent in the wireless subscribers segment for the said period.
VLR
Bharti Airtel recorded the highest VLR (Visitor Location Register) at 98.59 percent, followed by Vodafone Idea at 88.46 percent, Reliance Jio at 92.87 percent, BSNL at 53.28 percent, and MTNL at 26.36 percent.
It's important to note that active users is not an apt measure for wireless subscriber additions of telcos and only provide a temporary monthly measure for the overall or circle-specific active subscribers on a telco's network.
