Jio adds 46 lakh users in March, Airtel, Vodafone Idea see dip

Reliance Jio continued to lead the subscription race in March with an addition of over 46.87 lakh customers during the month, taking its subscriber base to over 38.75 crore, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The other two private telcos, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, witnessed an erosion in their subscriber base.

Bharti Airtel's subscriber base at the end of March stood at over 32.78 crore with a decline of 12.61 lakh subscriptions.

Vodafone Idea lost the most number of customers during the month under review. It lost 63.53 lakh users taking its subscriber base to 31.91 crore.

State-run BSNL, on the other hand added just over 95,000 new customers in March and its total tally now stands at 11.97 crore subscribers.

"Total wireless subscribers (2G, 3G and 4G) decreased from 1,160.59 million (116.05 crore) at the end of February 2020 to 1,157.75 million (117.57 crore) at the end of March 2020, thereby registering a monthly decline rate of 0.24 per cent," said the TRAI statement.

Wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 64.3 crore at the end of February 2020 to 63.8 crore at the end of March, but in rural areas, it increased from 51.7 crore to 51.92 crore at the end of March, it said..