Airtel Added 4.3 Million Mobile Subscribers in November 2020, Beating Jio for Fourth Consecutive Month: TRAI

Airtel added 4.3 million mobile subscribers in November 2020, according to the latest data from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The telecom operator beat Jio in the new subscribers race and other operators like Vi (Vodafone Idea) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) lost subscribers. This is the fourth consecutive month where Airtel has secured the top spot when it comes to mobile subscribers. Though this time, the lead was quite significant when compared to the previous months.

As of November 30, 2020, the data from TRAI shows that Airtel added 4.3 million mobile subscribers in November – significantly higher than all other telecom operators. Airtel's total subscriber base has reached to over 334.65 million with the addition of the November subscribers, taking its total market share to 28.97 percent. This marked a 1.3 percent growth compared to the data for October 2020.

Airtel was ahead of Jio once again, that added 1.3 million mobile subscribers at a 0.48 percent growth compared to the previous month. However, Jio has more total wireless subscribers at 408.29 million and a market share of 35.34 percent. BSNL, on the other hand, lost 18,357 subscribers while Vi lost the most subscribers in November 2020 – 2.89 million. As of November 30, 2020, BSNL and Vi have 118.86 million subscribers with 10.3 percent market share and 289.94 million subscribers with 25.1 percent market share, respectively.

TRAI also shared that the total wireless subscribers in India increased from 1,151.81 million at the end of October 2020 to 1,155.20 million at the end of November 2020. Additionally, Airtel had the highest visitor location register (VLR) or active wireless subscribers at 96.63 percent. Jio was at 79.55 percent, Vi at 89.01 percent, and BSNL at 51.72 percent.

Overall, in terms of wireless and wired services combined, Jio still holds the maximum market share at 55.27 percent, followed by Airtel at 23.51 percent, Vi at 16.30 percent, and BSNL at 3.52 percent, as of November 2020.

Click here to check out recharge plans for your mobile operator.

Does WhatsApp's new privacy policy spell the end for your privacy? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.