Vodafone-Idea subscribers shift to rivals; Jio, Airtel, and BSNL see growth in latest TRAI data

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its subscriber data for November, revealing a major setback for Vodafone-Idea (Vi). Despite the recent rollout of its 5G services in several cities, the country’s third-largest telecom operator continues to face a significant decline in its user base.

Vodafone-Idea faces steep decline

According to the report, Vodafone-Idea lost over 1.01 million (10.11 lakh) subscribers in November alone. This exodus resulted in a 0.50 per cent drop in market share, bringing Vi’s total share down to 17.01 per cent.

Meanwhile, the state-owned MTNL also struggled, losing 7,530 subscribers and leaving it with a marginal market share of just 0.02 per cent.

Jio and Airtel maintain dominance

Reliance Jio emerged as the market leader once again, adding 1.38 million (13.88 lakh) new users. This 0.46 per cent growth pushed Jio’s total market share to a dominant 41.41 per cent.

Bharti Airtel also showed strong performance, expanding its mobile user base by 1.21 million (12.15 lakh). With a 0.31 per cent increase in its subscriber count, Airtel now holds 33.64 per cent of the Indian market.

BSNL’s resurgence

Government-owned BSNL continues its remarkable turnaround. Following the launch of its 4G services, the company has seen consistent growth. In November, BSNL added 4,21,514 new users, increasing its market share by 0.29 per cent to reach a total of 7.92 per cent.

India’s expanding mobile and FWA user base

The overall telecom landscape in India continues to grow. The total number of mobile subscribers reached 1,173.88 million (117.38 crore) in November, up from 1,171.87 million in October, a monthly growth of 0.17 per cent.

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) growth

The Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) segment saw even more impressive gains, with a total growth of 5.06 per cent.

• Airtel: Led the segment with a 9.98 per cent growth rate, adding 2,51,095 new FWA users.
• Jio: Followed closely with 3.38 per cent growth, adding 2,50,274 new users to its FWA network.

Subscriber Gains/Losses (November)