In July 2024, the increase in mobile phone service tariffs had a noticeable impact on the telecom industry in India. Major players like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea raised their mobile service plan rates by 10-27% during the first week of the month. This led to a significant loss of customers, resulting in an overall decline in the number of telecom subscribers in the country.
Rising Tariffs and Their Effects
Over the past 2-3 years, Airtel and Vodafone Idea have more than doubled their entry-level mobile rates to ₹199, which offers 28 days of validity. As a consequence of these price hikes, many users decided to switch providers or reduce their mobile plans, leading to a loss of subscribers for the three major companies.
According to the latest report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) was the only telecom operator to gain new subscribers. In fact, BSNL added over 2.94 million mobile subscribers in July, standing out as a leader in net customer additions.
Subscriber Losses Among Major Players
The report highlighted the losses experienced by other companies:
- Bharti Airtel lost 1.69 million mobile subscribers, the highest among its competitors.
- Vodafone Idea lost 1.41 million subscribers.
- Reliance Jio saw a reduction of 758,000 subscribers.
Overall, the total telecom subscriber base in India dropped slightly from 1,205.64 million in June to 1,205.17 million in July.
Regional Declines
Several telecom circles across the country, including North East, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Kolkata, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, UP East, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh, reported declines in mobile customer bases following the tariff hikes.
Growth in Fixed-Line Connections
Interestingly, the segment for fixed-line or wireline connections saw a small increase of about 1%, rising to 35.56 million from 35.11 million in June. Reliance Jio led this segment by adding over 480,000 new subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with over 136,000 new connections. Other players, such as VMIPL, Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices, and Quadrant, also made minor additions.
However, BSNL faced losses in this segment, losing 134,000 fixed-line customers, while its sister company also saw a decline of 56,454 customers.
Broadband Growth
Despite the challenges in mobile subscriptions, the broadband customer base grew to 946.19 million by the end of July, up from 940.75 million in June. The top five players accounted for a staggering 98.42% of the total broadband connections in the country:
- Reliance Jio: 488.63 million customers
- Bharti Airtel: 284.03 million customers
- Vodafone Idea: 126.72 million customers
- BSNL: 29.61 million customers
- Atria Convergence: 2.26 million customers
Machine-to-Machine Connections
In the segment of machine-to-machine (M2M) cellular mobile connections, Bharti Airtel led with 28.46 million subscribers, accounting for 53.02% of the market share. It was followed by Vodafone Idea with 27.71%, Reliance Jio with 13.68%, and BSNL with a smaller share of 5.58%.
Conclusion
The recent hike in mobile service tariffs has had a profound effect on customer behavior in the telecom industry. While some companies faced significant subscriber losses, BSNL emerged as a surprising leader in new additions. The shifting landscape highlights the challenges and opportunities within India’s rapidly evolving telecom sector.
