Indian telecom operator BSNL has lost 15.43 million mobile phone customers during the fiscal 2023-24, the latest TRAI report indicates.
For comparison, Reliance Jio has added 39.5 million mobile phone customers. Bharti Airtel added 14.85 million mobile phone customers. Vodafone Idea has lost 16.93 million mobile phone customers during April 2023 – March 2024.
BSNL has 27.75 million mobile phone customers in rural India.
For comparison, Reliance Jio has 207.09 million mobile phone customers in rural India. Bharti Airtel has 188.85 million mobile phone customers in rural India. Vodafone Idea has 107.30 million mobile phone customers in rural India.
BSNL has also lost customers in its fixedline (wireline business). BSNL’s fixedline customer base fell by 0.61 million to reach 6.5 million at the end of March 2024.
Reliance Jio is the leading mobile operator in wireline service with 12.03 million subscribers at the end of Mar-24 followed by Bharti Airtel with 8.78 million subscribers.
Top five broadband (wired+wireless) service providers in term of subscribers are Reliance Jio 481.01 million, Bharti Airtel 273.23 million, Vodafone Idea 127.69 million, BSNL 24.70 million and Atria Convergence 2.25 million.
In wired broadband segment, Reliance Jio Infocomm has 28.14 percent market share with 11.27 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel with 7.73 million subscribers at the end of March-2024.
In wireless broadband segment, Reliance Jio has 53.14 percent share with 469.73 million subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel 30.03 percent with 265.50 million subscribers at the end of March-2024.
Top five telecom service areas in respect of broadband subscriptions at the end of March-2024 are Maharashtra 78.20 million, U.P.-East 75.21 million, Bihar 71.73 million, Andhra Pradesh 69.17 million and Madhya Pradesh 64.64 million.
BSNL has 5,333 million VSAT customers. BSNL has lost 1223 VSAT customers. Hughes Communication is the VSAT market leader with subscriber base of 1,79,732 followed by Nelco with subscriber base of 65,484 at the end of Mar-24.
BSNL has reported Rs 8019.85 crore (down 1.92 percent) in terms of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) during fiscal 2023-24.
For comparison, Reliance Jio has reported AGR of 97868.06 crore (up 9.62 percent). Airtel India has posted AGR of Rs 80529.33 crore (up 12.12 percent). Vodafone Idea has registered AGR of Rs 29605.24 crore (0.79 percent).
Baburajan Kizhakedath
