Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its monthly Telecom Performance Report for March 2022. During the month of March, Airtel was seen adding the maximum number of subscribers. Jio was just behind Airtel, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) was the only private telecom operator to lose subscribers. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-run telecom operator, also saw a decline in its overall user base during the month.
Airtel added maximum users in March 2022
In the month of March, Airtel added 2.25 million new users. Airtel is followed by Jio, which added 1.26 million new customers. Vodafone Idea (Vi) and BSNL lost 2.81 and 0.12 million users during March 2022.
TRAI data shows that over 9.64 million MNP (Mobile Number Portability) requests were made in March 2022. Of these, 5.65 million requests came from Zone 1 and the rest from Zone 2.
Jio added maximum broadband customers
Due to the popularity of its fiber broadband business, Reliance Jio added the highest number of wireline subscribers. Airtel, Quadrant and Vodafone Idea also added new wireline users. BSNL and MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited), both lost wireline subscribers, negatively impacting their market.
Jio added 0.28 million new wireline customers followed by Bharti Airtel, which added 0.083 million wireline users. Quadrant and Vodafone Idea added 0.019 million and 0.014 million new wireline users during the month.
BSNL lost 0.067 million subscribers in the wireline category, while MTNL lost 0.015 million wireline subscribers. BSNL has not been able to keep up with the pace of capex and expansion with which private companies are moving ahead.
BSNL, once the king in the fixed broadband segment, is no longer in second place. Jio and Airtel have ousted BSNL from their throne and are on their way to become the next big entity in the wireline segment across the country. Adding new wireline subscribers to Vodafone Idea is a good thing for the company, however, it did not affect its business much.