Bharti Airtel Ltd. added the highest number of active subscribers in October, clocking more regularly paying users on its network than its peers.
The active user base—or those who regularly renew subscriptions—of India’s second-largest wireless operator rose 1% month-on-month in October, according to data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. That’s as many as 3 million users, helping it edge past Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. on active subscriber base.
Active user base for Reliance Jio increased by 0.3% sequentially—or 1.1 million—while it fell by 1.2 million, or 0.5% month-on-month, for Vodafone Idea Ltd.
The Sunil Mittal-led company also added the most gross subscribers in October, which stood at 1.6 times that of Reliance Jio.
At 3.7 million, Bharti Airtel’s gross subscriber addition rose for the fourth straight month since July, when lockdown restrictions were eased. Vodafone Idea, however, lost about 2.7 million gross subscribers.
The overall industry’s active wireless subscribers increased for the third straight month, with net additions improving in October after moderating a month ago.
Active Subscribers
Visitor location register levels—or the percentage of active subscribers to total subscribers—for the industry declined marginally after rising in September.
Among individual companies, Bharti Airtel has the highest percentage of active subscribers to total subscribers, followed by Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio.
Inactive Subscribers
The gap between Reliance Jio’s gross and active subscribers increased for the third straight month in October. Bharti Airtel's inactive subscriber count, too, rose after remaining constant at around 10 million since July. On the other hand, Vodafone Idea's inactive subscribers count fell for the second straight month.
Active Market Share
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio continue to maintain a stable active subscriber market share while Vodafone Idea’s has been falling over the months.
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