Numbers can often deceive. Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, added about 1.42 million wireless subscribers in November 2022. The data comes from the latest monthly performance report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). According to the report, Jio and Airtel added wireless subscribers over the month, while BSNL and Vi lost. However, that’s not the point. What really matters is how many active users the telcos have added. According to the data published by TRAI, Airtel added nearly 1 million active users while Jio lost 2 million active users.
It’s hard to remember the last time Jio lost active users. Jio was also a bit ahead of Airtel in rolling out 5G to many parts of the country. So it’s hard to understand why Jio lost active users. Jio’s rates are also lower than any other private telecom operator. Vodafone Idea and BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) lost approximately 2 million and 0.5 million active subscribers respectively.
Read more – Same story for November 2022, Jio and Airtel win, others lose
What is the reason behind Jio losing active subscribers
The only obvious reason that comes to mind is a lower quality service. But according to Opensignal, Jio’s 4G networks are the best in India in terms of availability and coverage. It is also worth noting that Jio offers its 5G for free to 4G users. But to experience Jio’s 5G, you first need a smartphone that supports 5G SA (standalone); then you must receive an invitation from the company.
Read more – Jio will launch 5G in seven more cities on Friday
A lower active subscriber base would mean weak monthly ARPU (average revenue per user) growth. That’s exactly what happened to Jio in Q3 FY23. The telco’s ARPU was Rs 178.2, up just Rs 1 QoQ. This means that the telco is in dire need of a rate hike to boost profits and revenue. Without a rate increase, Jio’s revenues would most likely be at the same level.
The telco is trying to push users to subscribe to the Rs 239 plan, at least by only offering the 5G welcome offer to customers charged with the Rs 239 plan or above. It would be interesting to see how the telco performed in the month of December 2023.
