Jio Adding Active Users Even as Overall Base Declines

Reported by Tanay Singh Thakur November 22nd, 2024 at 02:14 pm

BSNL's overall subscriber base has been growing and at the same time, its active user base has also grown. In June, BSNL's total active user base was 46.58 million, and it has grown to 54.77 million at the end of September.

Highlights

Reliance Jio's overall subscriber base declined after the telco implemented the tariff hikes.
The same happened with the other private telecom operators.
Jio has seen an improvement in its active user base or VLR percentage.

jio adding active users even as overall

Reliance Jio's overall subscriber base declined after the telco implemented the tariff hikes. The same happened with the other private telecom operators. However, at the same time, Jio has seen an improvement in its active user base or VLR percentage. Before the tariff hikes, in June, Jio's active user base stood at 440.94 million, and the VLR percentage for the telco was 92.53%. This means that 92.53% of the telco's total user base was active during the month.

After multiple months from the implementation of tariff hikes, Jio's total active user base was 444.49 million, which is a jump of 3.55 million. So while the overall subscriber base of Jio has gone down from 476.53 million in June 2024 to 463.78 million at the end of September 2024, the active user base has gone up.

This is positive for Jio as the telco's ARPU (average revenue per user) has gone up from Rs 181.7 in the previous quarter to Rs 195.1 in Q2 FY25. Apart from Jio, no other private telecom operator added active users, however, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) did.

BSNL's overall subscriber base has been growing and at the same time, its active user base has also grown. In June, BSNL's total active user base was 46.58 million, and it has grown to 54.77 million at the end of September. Note that this data has been published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea's overall subscriber base and active user base both went down. However, private telcos saw an uptick in their ARPU, and at this point, they would be happier about that. While subscribers are important, it is also essential for the telcos that they earn more out of each of their customers.

Vodafone Idea would be a little worried though, as its active user base has come below 180 million, and the churn rate doesn't seem to be stopping. The fundamentals of the telco aren't improving, and they are unlikely to in the short-term.