Vodafone Idea only telco to see user decline, reports TRAI

Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), India’s third-largest telecom operator, was the only major service provider to report a decline in subscribers in September, 2025. Interestingly, even Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-owned operator, recorded an increase in its user base, adding more customers than Airtel during the same period. As expected, Reliance Jio continued to lead the market, adding the most subscribers and further strengthening its position. Jio also surpassed the milestone of 500 million users during the September quarter, a remarkable achievement both within India and globally. These figures were released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday.

Reliance Jio topped the list by adding 3.24 million new wireless users to its subscriber base. BSNL followed with approximately 0.52 million new users, while Airtel came in third, gaining around 0.43 million subscribers. In contrast, Vodafone Idea’s subscriber base continued to shrink, with a loss of about 0.74 million customers during the month. It is evident that BSNL and other private operators are benefiting from Vodafone Idea’s continued decline.

As a result of these trends, Vodafone Idea’s market share of wireless subscribers fell to 17.33%, compared with Jio’s 41.24% and Airtel’s 33.53%. BSNL held a 7.88% share of the market during the same period. Despite investing heavily in 5G rollouts and upgrading its 4G infrastructure over the past year, Vodafone Idea continues to face user attrition. The operator recently decided to discontinue incentives and commissions for its retail outlets, a move intended to streamline costs while focusing on subscriber acquisition.

Nevertheless, Vodafone Idea faces an urgent need to stabilise and grow its user base. The company recently received relief from the Supreme Court in the long-standing Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues case, which could provide some financial and operational breathing space as it works to regain lost ground in the competitive telecom sector.

If the government decides to re-evaluate the AGR dues, it could represent a major breakthrough for Vodafone Idea, which has been struggling under the weight of massive liabilities. Recently, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had raised additional AGR demands from the company, amounts that had reportedly not been accounted for earlier.