4G operator Reliance Jio is the new leader in the Indian broadband market, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Reliance Jio, which offered free voice, data and roaming services from September 2016 as part of its promotion plan, has displaced broadband leader Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India.
In October, Reliance Jio was in the third position behind Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India.
Reliance Jio Infocom has 52.23 million Internet users against Bharti Airtel’s 43.93 million, Vodafone India’s 34.88 million, Idea Cellular’s 28.40 million and BSNL’s 20.39 million in November 2016, said TRAI in a statement.
Top five wired broadband service providers are BSNL with 9.95 million against Bharti Airtel’s 2.03 million, Atria Convergence Technologies’s 1.14 million, MTNL’s 1.05 million and YOU Broadband’s 0.60 million.
The top five wireless broadband service providers are Reliance Jio Infocomm with 52.23 million against Bharti Airtel’s 41.9 million, Vodafone India’s 34.87 million, Idea Cellular’s 28.4 million and Reliance Communications’s 16.08 million.
TRAI said the number of broadband subscribers slightly declined to 218.26 million in November 2016 from 218.42 million with a monthly growth rate of -0.07 percent.
Mobile subscriber base
Despite challenges from Reliance Jio, established telecom operators are continuing to focus on urban population for growth in the Indian telecom market.
Mobile subscriber base increased to 1,099.51 million in November 2016 from 1,078.42 million in October 2016, registering a monthly growth rate of 1.96 percent.
Mobile subscription in urban areas increased to 638.46 million (+2.68 percent) in November 2016 from 621.77 million in October 2016.
Wireless subscription in rural areas increased from 456.66 million to 461.05 million (+0.96 percent), said TRAI.
Mobile tele-density increased from 84.34 in October 2016 to 85.90 in November 2016.
Urban mobile tele-density increased from 155.35 in October 2016 to 159.27 in November 2016. Rural mobile tele-density also increased from 51.98 to 52.45.
The share of urban and rural wireless subscribers in total number of wireless subscribers was 58.07 percent and 41.93 percent respectively in November 2016, said TRAI.
