Vodafone Idea Actually Lost 2.3 Mn Subs in January '21: TRAI

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the revised figures for January telecom subscribers. Also, it is not good news for people at Vodafone Idea.

The new data shows that the telco had actually lost 2.3 million subscribers, instead of gaining 1.7 million users. Incidentally, TRAI said that the erroneous report was due to an "inadvertent error" on the telco's part.

Vodafone Idea's Data Revision

According to TRAI data that was released earlier this month, the telco's had added 1.7 million wireless subscribers in January. This was their first positive growth in 14 months. Interestingly, VnD reported that it could be a fluke as the telco only gained customers in one circle, and lost in all others. As per the revised figures, Vodafone Idea lost 2.3 million users in the month of January.

TRAI issued a corrigendum to correct the error. In there, the regulator said, "M/s Vodafone Idea Limited vide its letter no. VIL/LT/19-20/627 dated 18th March, 2021 reported an inadvertent error in its HLR subscriber data in respect of Uttar Pradesh (West) LSA for the month of January 2021."

In the same time frame, Bharti Airtel added 5.9 million, followed by Reliance Jio that added 2 million.

Who Stands Where?

Reliance Jio topped wireless subscriber figures with a base of 410.7 million. Airtel and Vodafone Idea completed the podium with 344.6 million and 281.9 million users.

In terms of market share, Jio is on top with a share of 35.43%. Again, Airtel comes in second with 29.72% and Vodafone Idea makes up 24.32%. Together, these three telcos serve almost 90% of total wireless users in India.

The rest of the market share goes to BSNL and MTNL, with around 10% market share between them.