 "telecom")
Reliance Jio continued to strengthen its position in the Indian telecom market, gaining a record 3.9 million new users in July, according to the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). This growth came largely at the expense of Vodafone Idea (Vi), which saw its user base contract by 1.2 million during the same period.
Trai data revealed that 11.7 million subscribers had submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP), signalling a sustained trend of Vi users migrating to other operators. Vi has been experiencing significant customer attrition for the past 18 months, a trend that has accelerated recently.
In contrast, Jio consistently posted robust growth in user numbers, adding 2.2 million users in June. The company also surpassed the 10 million mark for landline connections in July, up from 9.95 million in the previous month. Now, one out of every three connections in India's 30.6-million-strong landline market is serviced by Jio.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel, the second-largest player in the market, saw its subscriber count increase at a more modest pace. The company added 1.5 million users in July, slightly up from 1.4 million in June.
For July, Jio's subscriber market share stood at 38.6 per cent, while Airtel held a 32.7 per cent share. Vi's market share dipped below 20 per cent, registering 19.9 per cent in July.
State-owned operators BSNL and MTNL lost 1.4 million and 33,623 wireless customers, respectively.
The overall number of mobile phone connections in India increased by 2.67 million in July, a considerable rise from the addition of 0.37 million users in June.
