TRAI June Data Released; Jio Outshines Everyone as Vodafone Idea Slumps

On Monday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI, released the Telecom Subscription Data report for June. While June proved to be a good month for the sector as a whole, TRAI June data saw Vodafone Idea slump to almost 23% market share.

Vodafone Idea Continues to Lose Ground; Reliance Jio Continues the Gains

In what was a largely positive month for the sector, the total subscriber base crossed the 1.2 billion mark again. The telecom sector added a net 4.06 million subscribers over June, at a rate of 0.34%. However, somewhat interestingly, rural users decreased by 0.85 million.

Speaking of the net market share in the sector, Reliance Jio stands at the top, with its 36.98% market share. Bharti Airtel lags behind by a considerable margin, with 29.82% market share. Vodafone Idea saw its market share slump to 23.15% over June, marred by its recent financial woes. Rest of the 10.05% market share belonged to the PSUs, BSNL and MTNL.

Interestingly, Reliance Communications registered the highest amount of growth during June. The defunct telco saw its wireless users increase by 10.71%. It was followed by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, who registered 1.27% and 1.09% growth, respectively. BSNL, MTNL and Vodafone Idea lost customers over the month.

TRAI June data also reported Vi's customer base take a hit worth 4.3 million subscribers. On the other side of the scale, Jio was able to add 5.7 million new subscribers, while Airtel added 3.8 million new customers. The second largest telco would have heaved a sigh of relief as it had reported a slump in May; Jio has been immaculate, and June marks a streak of three month when the largest telco has gained the most subscribers.

Vodafone Idea in a Right Fix

Vodafone Idea's financial mess is an open secret in the telecom sector, with the telco on the verge of capsizing. It is a small wonder that given the telco's drying revenue streams and mounting payment worries, it is still fighting tooth and nail to survive.

Recently, the apex court quashed almost all hopes of a respite from AGR dues for both Vi and Airtel. The two telcos have a combined AGR dues worth over Rs 80,000 crore. Both the telcos claimed "irregularities", but the SC rejected the plea. Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have filed review petitions, and will seek curative petitions, too. However, their prospects look slim, and it is likely that they will have to pay the dues, as per DoT, in full.

This is what has prompted the telcos to seek a relief for the sector as a whole. And the government has already been working on a telecom sector relief package, which should come by the end of August.