According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) monthly report for August 2021, it is evident that Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) customers are porting out to the networks of Airtel and Jio. A total of 11.28 million mobile number portability (MNP) requests were made in August 2021. Out of the 11.28 million MNP requests across India, 6.49 million requests came from Zone-1 while 4.79 million requests came from Zone-2. This has taken the cumulative MNP requests in India from 616.87 million at the end of July 2021 to 628.15 million at the end of August 2021.
As per TRAI data, in Zone-1, the highest number of MNP requests to date have been made in Maharashtra (51.76 million) followed by Rajasthan (45.53 million). In comparison, in Zone-2, the highest number of MNP requests to date have been made in Karnataka (50.13 million) followed by Andhra Pradesh (48.23 million).
Vodafone Idea, BSNL Lost Subscribers
While Jio and Airtel customers might have ported out as well, it is clearly visible that Vodafone Idea and BSNL customers are porting out in larger numbers. Vodafone Idea lost 8,33,549 subscribers while BSNL lost 60,439 subscribers. Neither of the telcos has added new customers in a while.
While the exact numbers are not mentioned, it isn’t hard to understand that Vodafone Idea customers are porting out to the networks of Airtel and Jio in a bunch. Possible reasons for this could be the network superiority that Airtel and Jio promise. Vi scores much lesser points than Airtel and Jio when it comes to network coverage.
The cash-strapped telco has been unable to expand aggressively because of very limited cash-in-hand. However, with the payment moratorium of four years, tariff hikes in the future, and additional capital from promoters and outside investors, Vi can turn things around pretty fast. It will be interesting to see when can Vi again start adding new subscribers.
