Vodafone Idea, India’s leading and the merged telco of Vodafone and Idea, as we all know, projected several synergy benefits before and after the merger. The single largest telco also chalked out 17 Priority circles, and as the name suggests, these circles are prioritised at the forefront to achieve the telco’s goals and objectives. Let’s now look into the performance of the wireless subscriber base aspect of the telco in these circles.
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Vi Spectrum:
Vodafone Idea acquired mid-band 5G spectrum (3300 MHz band) in 17 priority circles, mmWave 5G spectrum (26 GHz band) in 16 circles and incremental 4G spectrum in 3 circles of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab.
While TRAI is yet to publish the September 2022 subscriber data, Vodafone Idea, in its Q2FY23 results, updated that the telco has 234.4 million subscribers as of September 30, 2022.
Some Q2FY23 Key Performance Indicators:
Average Revenue per User (ARPU): Rs 131
Average Minutes of Use per User: 599 min
Average Data Usage by 4G Subscriber: 15,365 MB (Approximately 15GB)
In this analysis, let’s look into the wireless subscriber base as per TRAI for the last 12 months against the spectrum holdings of these 17 priority circles and understand how these priority circles fared.
Vi Wireless Subscriber Numbers: Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec 2021
Sl. No
Circle
Total Spectrum Holding
Sep 21
Oct 21
Nov 21
Dec 21
1
Kerala
964.8 MHz
16,550,717
16,576,730
16,499,736
16,408,387
2
Mumbai
332.4 MHz
11,579,610
11,620,995
11,603,364
11,587,899
3
Gujarat
613.6 MHz
24,305,580
24,206,672
24,075,093
23,790,340
4
Haryana
556.0 MHz
8,027,162
7,962,609
7,896,091
7,912,039
5
Maharashtra
572.8 MHz
29,368,881
29,030,093
28,900,729
28,665,552
6
UP – West
480.0 MHz
19,343,161
19,271,089
19,123,461
19,033,068
7
Kolkata
334.0 MHz
6,457,356
6,402,240
6,355,564
6,313,538
8
Delhi
321.2 Mhz
15,812,011
15,774,846
15,823,733
15,994,885
9
West Bengal
541.6 MHz
16,496,690
16,482,187
16,449,885
16,369,180
10
Tamil Nadu
412.8 MHz
18,421,575
18,267,793
18,157,872
18,029,076
11
Punjab
431.2 MHz
8,864,450
9,004,580
8,932,142
8,871,081
12
UP – East
391.2 MHz
20,781,191
21,051,817
20,548,863
20,531,856
13
Madhya Pradesh
542.0 MHz
20,787,588
20,723,844
20,566,331
20,461,601
14
Rajasthan
432.8 MHz
11,626,794
11,557,027
11,512,840
11,463,411
15
Andhra Pradesh
310.0 MHz
14,768,586
14,589,459
14,417,213
14,241,991
16
Karnataka
310.0 MHz
8,531,587
8,456,083
8,362,821
8,249,302
17
Bihar
96.8 MHz
10,973,747
10,877,621
10,747,890
10,577,260
Total 17 Circles
262,696,686
261,855,685
259,973,628
258,500,466
Net Addition
-841,001
-1,882,057
-1,473,162
Total 22 Circles
269,990,327
269,026,082
267,129,032
265,514,322
Vi Wireless Subscriber Numbers: Jan, Feb, Mar 2022
Sl. No
Circle
Total Spectrum Holding
Jan 22
Feb 22
Mar 22
1
Kerala
964.8 MHz
16,329,344
16,163,782
15,953,380
2
Mumbai
332.4 MHz
11,849,869
11,846,621
11,837,333
3
Gujarat
613.6 MHz
23,844,613
23,867,662
23,787,229
4
Haryana
556.0 MHz
7,888,919
7,918,102
7,833,440
5
Maharashtra
572.8 MHz
29,317,539
29,301,925
28,714,243
6
UP – West
480.0 MHz
19,143,370
19,026,856
18,762,746
7
Kolkata
334.0 MHz
6,239,867
6,136,945
6,076,759
8
Delhi
321.2 Mhz
16,103,982
16,054,137
16,130,457
9
West Bengal
541.6 MHz
15,979,046
15,804,656
15,662,083
10
Tamil Nadu
412.8 MHz
17,762,548
17,898,703
17,928,621
11
Punjab
431.2 MHz
8,666,491
8,618,570
8,546,865
12
UP – East
391.2 MHz
20,736,110
20,942,068
20,543,055
13
Madhya Pradesh
542.0 MHz
20,684,045
20,307,524
19,984,148
14
Rajasthan
432.8 MHz
11,378,812
11,183,574
11,073,954
15
Andhra Pradesh
310.0 MHz
14,095,576
13,803,355
13,692,242
16
Karnataka
310.0 MHz
7,981,269
7,827,250
7,639,731
17
Bihar
96.8 MHz
10,377,727
10,314,616
10,189,484
Total 17 Circles
258,379,127
257,016,346
254,355,770
Net Addition
-121,339
-1,362,781
-2,660,576
Total 22 Circles
265,125,240
263,593,051
260,774,732
Vi Wireless Subscriber Numbers: Apr, May, Jun 2022
Sl. No
Circle
Total Spectrum Holding
Apr 22
May 22
Jun 22
1
Kerala
964.8 MHz
15,752,322
15,467,939
15,278,510
2
Mumbai
332.4 MHz
11,806,736
11,872,510
11,702,577
3
Gujarat
613.6 MHz
23,829,900
23,847,573
23,835,491
4
Haryana
556.0 MHz
7,805,801
7,798,065
7,796,890
5
Maharashtra
572.8 MHz
28,258,963
28,021,176
27,756,584
6
UP – West
480.0 MHz
18,674,757
18,568,913
18,406,223
7
Kolkata
334.0 MHz
6,094,626
6,092,618
6,080,093
8
Delhi
321.2 Mhz
16,386,314
16,349,276
16,425,147
9
West Bengal
541.6 MHz
15,702,177
15,720,882
15,665,406
10
Tamil Nadu
412.8 MHz
17,752,333
17,705,521
17,654,593
11
Punjab
431.2 MHz
8,417,752
8,434,928
8,345,197
12
UP – East
391.2 MHz
20,347,136
20,234,110
20,159,319
13
Madhya Pradesh
542.0 MHz
19,771,158
19,850,888
19,544,985
14
Rajasthan
432.8 MHz
11,028,854
10,981,737
10,891,351
15
Andhra Pradesh
310.0 MHz
13,536,849
13,462,041
13,356,859
16
Karnataka
310.0 MHz
7,595,906
7,572,092
7,473,709
17
Bihar
96.8 MHz
10,098,755
10,181,591
10,101,469
Total 17 Circles
252,860,339
252,161,860
250,474,403
Net Addition
-1,495,431
-698,479
-1,687,457
Total 22 Circles
259,206,066
258,446,808
256,645,622
Vi Wireless Subscriber Numbers: Jul, Aug 2022
Sl. No
Circle
Total Spectrum Holding
Jul 22
Aug 22
Sep 22
1
Kerala
964.8 MHz
15,120,953
15,078,888
2
Mumbai
332.4 MHz
11,597,665
11,532,881
3
Gujarat
613.6 MHz
23,746,631
23,683,216
4
Haryana
556.0 MHz
7,800,804
7,771,735
5
Maharashtra
572.8 MHz
27,466,723
26,908,840
6
UP – West
480.0 MHz
18,303,435
18,103,713
7
Kolkata
334.0 MHz
6,061,242
6,024,917
8
Delhi
321.2 Mhz
16,444,876
16,530,586
9
West Bengal
541.6 MHz
15,561,404
15,410,317
10
Tamil Nadu
412.8 MHz
17,638,986
17,555,468
11
Punjab
431.2 MHz
8,302,554
8,210,720
12
UP – East
391.2 MHz
20,069,503
19,910,512
13
Madhya Pradesh
542.0 MHz
19,404,464
19,166,403
14
Rajasthan
432.8 MHz
10,835,672
10,750,310
15
Andhra Pradesh
310.0 MHz
13,003,669
12,957,328
16
Karnataka
310.0 MHz
7,520,391
7,442,360
17
Bihar
96.8 MHz
10,128,738
10,115,082
Total 17 Circles
249,007,710
247,153,276
Net Addition
-1,466,693
-1,854,434
Total 22 Circles
255,102,703
253,144,350
Wireless Subscriber Base Overview for last 12 Months (Start – End):
If we look at the numbers reported for the last 12 months, except for Delhi, none of the priority circles made any subscriber additions. 16 of the 17 priority circles lost wireless subscribers, while Delhi (Metro) had a slight growth of subscribers, which stood at 16,530,586 in Aug 2022 from 15,812,011 in Sep 2021.
Recent Updates from the Telco:
The telco announced Diwali Offer on three long-term prepaid plans.
The telco recently lowered its postpaid tariffs and added Extra Data, Unlimited Night and other Tariff components to its plans to retain postpaid subscribers.
Only time will tell if Vodafone Idea’s move to strategise and focus on 17 Priority circles will reap any benefits and increase the telco’s market share and revenues.
Note: Manual work is involved, and care is taken to avoid any errors. Please report in case of any corrections. Liberalised Spectrum is considered for use with any technology.
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