India’s telecommunications landscape witnessed significant developments in March 2023, with Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator, adding an impressive 30.5 lakh mobile subscribers during the month. In contrast, Vodafone Idea experienced a decline of 12.12 lakh wireless users. These statistics were revealed in the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Reliance Jio’s subscriber base continues to expand, surpassing 43 crore subscribers in March compared to 42.71 crore in February. It is noteworthy that Reliance Jio had already secured the highest number of mobile subscribers in February, with an addition of approximately 10 lakh users. Bharti Airtel, led by Sunil Mittal, also experienced growth, welcoming 10.37 lakh new mobile subscribers in March, bringing its total subscriber base to 37.09 crores, up from 36.98 crores in February.
The TRAI report indicates that Vodafone Idea, which trails behind Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in terms of mobile market subscribers, suffered a loss of 12.12 lakh mobile users in March. Vodafone Idea’s mobile subscriber base decreased to 23.67 crores in March, down from 23.79 crores the previous month.
Additionally, the TRAI report revealed an overall increase of 0.86 percent in the tally of broadband subscribers during the month of March. The total number of broadband subscribers rose from 839.33 million at the end of February to 846.57 million at the end of March. Notably, the top five service providers accounted for a substantial 98.37 percent market share of the total broadband subscriber base by the end of March 2023. Reliance Jio held the leading position with 43.85 crore subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 24.19 crores and Vodafone Idea with 12.48 crores.
Furthermore, the report highlighted an overall increase in the total number of telephone subscribers in India, reaching 1,172.84 million (117.2 crores) by the end of March 2023, representing a monthly growth rate of 0.21 percent.
In terms of urban and rural telephone subscriptions, the numbers also witnessed growth. Urban telephone subscriptions rose from 652.16 million in February to 653.71 million in March, while rural subscriptions increased from 517.77 million to 518.63 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates for urban and rural telephone subscriptions were recorded at 0.24 percent and 0.17 percent, respectively, in March 2023, according to TRAI.
Overall, India’s teledensity, which indicates the percentage of the population with access to telecommunication services, rose to 84.51 percent by the end of March 2023. Urban teledensity increased from 133.70 percent in February to 133.81 percent in March, while rural teledensity saw a modest rise from 57.63 percent to 57.71 percent during the same period.
These statistics signify the dynamic nature of India’s telecommunications sector, with Reliance Jio continuing to expand its user base, Bharti Airtel making steady progress, and Vodafone Idea facing challenges in maintaining its subscriber count. The growth in broadband and telephone subscribers, both in urban and rural areas, reflects the increasing connectivity and accessibility of telecommunication services across the country.
