Bharti Airtel Loses Highest-Ever Active Subscribers In August
Bharti Airtel lost more than 57 lakh active subscribers, a metric that matter more, in August.
Bharti Airtel Ltd. lost most active subscribers in August as the nation’s second-biggest telecom service provider temporarily shut operations in Jammu & Kashmir during the lockdown and flood in various regions damaged network connectivity.
The Sunil Mittal-controlled operator lost more than 57 lakh active or paying subscribers in August, according to data compiled by BloombergQuint from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. That’s the highest-ever loss in active users for Bharti Airtel.
Vodafone Idea Ltd.—India’s largest telecom operator by users—also continued to lose paying subscribers for 16 straight months, albeit at a slower pace. Its active subscriber base fell by 28.6 lakh in August—the fewest in nine months.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., the telecom operator launched by Asia’s richest man, is the only service provider to add active users on its network, yet again. India’s fastest-growing telecom service provider added 71 lakh active users in August as sales of its JioPhone—a low-cost 4G-enabled feature phone—rose in rural areas. In July, Reliance Jio had added 40 lakh active subscribers.
A higher active subscriber base doesn’t necessarily mean better revenue. But it at least means that a customer is frequently using the service and the risk of losing that user is low.
Bharti Airtel, however, continued to add broadband or high-paying users to its network. The company added 27.6 lakh customers who predominantly use data and generate higher revenue during the month. That’s because of improved network connectivity, competitive plans and better customer service.
Vodafone Idea, on the other hand, managed to add only 2 lakh broadband users as its network quality deteriorated.
The entry of Reliance Jio in 2016 proved to be a turning point in the world’s second-biggest telecom market. The upstart stormed in with free voice services for life, and initially offered free data services to lure subscribers. That prompted rivals to either merge or quit the market altogether.