Telecom subscribers dip by 33 lakh in October; Reliance Jio loses 1.65 crore subscribers in 4 months: TRAI data

India’s telecom sector saw a decline in subscriber numbers in October 2024, as per the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The total number of telephone subscribers dropped by 33 lakh, or 0.21%, reducing the overall subscriber base to 1,188.20 million as of October 31, 2024. The urban subscribers decreased to 660.42 million and rural subscriptions fell to 527.79 million for the month of October.

Broadband also saw a sharp dip in subscribers numbers, falling by 0.31% to 941.47 million as compared to 944.40 million in September. Total wireless subscriptions also dropped marginally, falling by 0.29% from 1,153.72 million in September to 1,150.42 million in October.

TRAI data showed that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, India’s largest telecom operator, lost 31.3 lakh broadband subscribers in October, and 1.65 crore subscribers over the past four months. The company’s mobile wireless subscriber base declined by 37.6 lakh in October. However, its wired broadband subscriptions recorded a 2.37% growth, rising from 43.63 million to 44.66 million.

Despite the losses in subscriber base, Reliance Jio continued to dominate the sector with 14.79 million wired broadband subscribers and 460.02 million wireless broadband subscribers as of October 31, 2024. Bharti Airtel followed with 8.91 million wired broadband subscribers and 278.76 million wireless broadband subscribers. While Vodafone Idea lost 19.3 lakh mobile subscribers in October, state-owned BSNL added 5 lakh subscribers.

Top five broadband service providers in India

The top five broadband (wired and wireless) service providers in India hold a market share of 98.42%. Here is the list as of October 31, 2024:

Tele-density in India

India’s tele-density dropped marginally from 84.69% in September to 84.46% in October. The urban and rural tele-density dropped to 131.31% and 58.39%, respectively. While Delhi had the highest tele-density at 278.24%, Bihar had the lowest at 56.25%.

The sector also saw a reduction in complaints related to unregistered telemarketers and spam calls, dropping by 20% from 1.89 lakh in August to 1.51 lakh in October. The improvement follows TRAI’s directive in August asking operators to stop voice promotional calls from unregistered senders. The regulations included a two-year blacklist for the violators.

The number of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests hit 13.45 million in October, bringing the total MNP requests to over 1 billion since its implementation. MNP allows customers to switch to a different mobile service provider without changing their existing phone numbers, offering convenience and improved network connectivity.