Reliance Jio Beats Bharti Airtel To Add Most Active Users In November

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. added the most active subscribers among peers in November, clocking the best number in the last six months despite concerns stemming from farmers' protest.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-controlled operator added 5.4 million regularly paying users over the previous month in November, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Bharti Airtel added 3.9 million, while Vodafone Idea Ltd. lost 1.9 million.

Reliance Jio's higher active subscriber addition in November defied concerns about farmers' protest in the National Capital Region and states like Punjab and Haryana. The operator saw its towers vandalised, and also accused rivals of using the opportunity to port out its users, something that Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea rejected.

Bharti Airtel, however, added the most gross subscribers as its user base base grew 1.3% or 4.4 million over the previous month in November, compared to Reliance Jio's growth of 1.9 million or 0.5%. VIL's wireless subscriber base declined.

India's telecom industry added three times more active users in November than the previous month as more people activated connections as the economic activity recovers.

Active Subscriber Share

Despite a marginal decline, Bharti Airtel has the highest proportion of active users. The share of regularly paying subscribers improved for the other two peers.

Inactive Subscribers

The gap between Reliance Jio's gross and active subscribers narrowed in November, while it widened for Bharti Airtel for the second straight month. VIL's inactive subscribers declined for the third straight month.

Active Market Share

Both Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio held steady on active user market share while VIL continues to slip.