JIO'S SUBSCRIBER SURGE CONTINUES; BSNL'S DIPS

Reliance Jio has emerged as the clear leader in India's telecom market for the second consecutive month, adding 1.7 million active subscribers in September 2024, according to the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as quoted by a Morgan Stanley research report.

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This continued surge contrasts sharply with the losses faced by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi), which lost 1.3 million and 3.1 million active subscribers, respectively.

The overall telecom industry saw a decline of 1.5 million active subscribers, marking the third consecutive month of subscriber losses. This drop brings the total active subscriber base to 1.06 billion.

The trend suggests potential SIM consolidation, particularly in B and C circles, where subscriber counts fell by 3.2 million and 0.9 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, metropolitan and A circles saw gains, with 1.8 million and 0.7 million subscribers added, indicating stronger tariff absorption in urban markets.

Jio's success is attributed to its strategic decisions to avoid tariff hikes, particularly in the feature phone segment, which has proven to be highly appealing to price-sensitive customers.