The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) released Telecom Subscription Data Report as of January 31, 2021. We have already reported the wireless subscription data of telecom operators, and the same report has wireline subscription data of broadband service providers. In the report, Trai said BSNL lost 2.13 lakh existing users, but JioFiber gained 1.96 lakh new customers. Bharti Airtel added just 76,654 new customers. At the end of January 2021, JioFiber' subscriber base stood at 2.25 million. BSNL is still the leading broadband operator in India, with an overall userbase of 7.69 million. If JioFiber continues to add subscribers at this pace, Airtel Xstream Fiber will likely lose its second spot.
BSNL Lost 2.13 Lakh Users But Continues to Lead the Market
The introduction of affordable broadband plans is not making any difference to BSNL as the ISP continues to lose subscribers on a larger number. However, BSNL will retain its position for another 5-6 quarters as the second-ranked Airtel Xstream Fiber has a subscriber base of 2.90 million. Apart from JioFiber, no other company added more than one lakh subscribers during the month which is underwhelming.
Despite offering affordable plans starting at Rs 499, Airtel Xstream Fiber added just 76,654 new customers. JioFiber is third on the list with 2.25 million overall userbase, followed by ACT Fibernet with 1.80 million and Hathway Cable & Datacom with 1.05 million. Slowly and steadily, JioFiber is inching towards grabbing the second spot from Airtel Xstream Fiber.
That said, JioFiber' subscriber base isn't growing at a rapid pace either. For the unaware, JioFiber has the cheapest broadband plans in the industry right now, starting at Rs 399, and it has a full-fibre network all over the country. JioFiber is also facing immense competition from other operators like Airtel Xstream Fiber, BSNL Broadband and other local ISPs which are even providing 1 Gbps plans at affordable rates.
As of January 31, 2021, the overall wired broadband subscriber base in India stood at 22.67 million. With several industries opening-up after the pandemic, wired broadband growth will likely slowdown in the coming months.
In other news, Bharti Airtel has added three times more subscribers than Reliance Jio in the telecom side of things. The country' second-largest telecom operator added 5.8 million users in January 2021, whereas Jio added just 1.9 million users.
