According to the data collated and released by TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), BSNL
has inducted 2.44 lakh new subscribers in their 20 operative circles in
the month of June alone. Whereas, its biggest competitor and the
reigning telecom giant, Bharti Airtel could manage only 10,689 new users
in the same month.
BSNL Vs. Airtel
BSNL has
been on a subscriber addition spree as of late and the trend didn’t
change in the month of June as well. As per TRAI, the state-run PSU
managed to acquire 2.44 lakh new subscribers in their 20 operative
circles in June of this year itself. While Bharti Airtel could only get
about 10,689 new subscribers in the same month. That means that BSNL
managed to outrun Airtel in terms of adding new subscribers to its
customer base.
The Numbers Game
As per TRAI’s data report on the monthly subscription,
India’s telecom subscriber base has expanded to 116.8 crores by the end
of June 2018. Reliance Jio is leading the charge from the front with the
highest number of new customers added to its network during the month.
The number of Indian telephone subscribers rose to
1,168.89 million or 116.88 crores towards the end of June 2018 from
1,153.51 million or 115.35 crores at the conclusion of May 2018.
According to TRAI’s subscriber reports. The telecom subscribers rose by
1.33% within a span of a month. Mobile subscriptions too rose to an
impressive 114.65 crores with 1.55 crores added in the month of June
itself!
On the other hand, Jio added 97 lakh brand new connections
to their mobile network in June, thus making the company top the current
telecom service providers in subscriber addition by a huge margin. In
comparison, Idea cellular added 63 lakh new subscribers, Vodafone 2.75
lakh, BSNL 2.44 lakh, and Airtel the lowest with only 10,689 new
connections.
According to PTI, Tata Teleservices, who is locked in
merger talks with Airtel, lost more than 1 million subscribers from its
mobile network, while Reliance Communications lost about 1.08 lakh
mobile customers, and the state-owned MTNL only 9,615 customers.
BSNL Launches ‘Onam Freedom’, ‘Chhota Pack’ Prepaid Recharge Plans; Offers Extra Talktime, Data Benefits
The Wireline Network Numbers
As per TRAI, the landline segment in India continues to
witness a steady decline. The 22.51 million or 2.25 crores landline
subscribers at the end of May dwindled to 22.40 million or 2.24 crores
by the end of June. Subscribers of broadband services saw an increase
from 43.2 crores in the month of May to 44.71 crores in June. 96% of the
total base can be accounted to the mobile segment.
According to the report by TRAI, the five leading broadband
service providers together hold a nauseating 97.67% of the market share
with Reliance Jio in the lead once again with a massive 215.26 million
or 21.52 crores subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with a broadband
subscriber base of 95.31 million or 9.53 crores. Closely followed by
Vodafone who has 62.86 million or 6.28 crores broadband subscribers,
Idea has about 42.95 million or 4.29 crores subscribers with BSNL bringing in the rear with 20.34 million or 2.03 crore subscribers for broadband.
By the end of June 2018, India had a total teledensity of
89.72, with 158.16 accrued in the urban areas. The rural region saw a
marginal increase of 57.99 by the time June ended.
