Reliance Jio Adds 3.55 Million Mobile Subscribers in May, Airtel Loses 4.6 Million: TRAI

Reliance Jio won big in the month of May with over 3 million wireless subscribers joining its network, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report. Other telecom operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi), and BSNL lost subscribers. Bharti Airtel lost the most number of subscribers, followed by Vi and BSNL. Reliance Jio's monthly growth rate was at 0.83 percent and it is worth noting that it was the only telecom operator that saw subscriber additions at a time of lockdown restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

TRAI's May report for the month of May 2021 reveals that Reliance Jio's wireless subscriber market share increased from 36.15 percent at the end of April to 36.64 percent at the end of May. Reliance Jio added 3.55 million subscribers reaching a total subscriber base of 431.22 million. Bharti Airtel, on the other hand, lost the most – 4.61 million subscribers – in the month of May. Its market share reduced from 29.83 percent at the end of April to 29.60 percent at the end of May.

Vi continued its losing streak with a loss of 4.28 million subscribers in May, reducing its market share from 23.83 percent to 23.59 percent. BSNL's wireless subscriber market share stood at 9.89 percent with a loss of 0.88 million subscribers.

Reliance Jio rules in the broadband segment as well with a market share (wired and wireless) of 55.65 percent. Most of the headway made by Jio is in the wireless broadband segment where it leads by a significant margin. In the wired broadband segment, BSNL is still at the top.

The top five wireless broadband service providers for the month of May 2021 were Reliance Jio with 431.23 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 189.49 million subscribers, Vi with 119.63 million subscribers, BSNL with 16.44 million subscribers, and Tikona with 0.32 million subscribers.

In the wired broadband segment, BSNL rules with 6.03 million subscribers and Bharti Airtel is second with 3.24 million subscribers. Reliance Jio with 3 million subscribers, Atria Convergence Technologies with 1.87 million subscribers, and Hathway with 1.07 million subscribers complete the top 5 list.