Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its January 2022 report on telecom subscription data. Because we’re keeping a close eye on wireless subscribers and we’re rolling out two telcos 5G Networking across India, Vodafone Idea is the only telco with no actual 5G rollout announcements other than 5G device support announcements and delivery of 5G Ready SIM card. Vodafone Idea also adjusts the rates to make them look attractive in order to stop the turnover of wireless subscribers. But all those moves really helped the telco? TRAI data for January 2023 says no, as the telco lost more than 1.3 million wireless subscribers.
Read also: Vodafone Idea continues its 20-month subscriber loss streak
Scenario wireless subscribers for January according to TRAI
Bharti Airtel added a total of 1,281,822 wireless subscribers, Vodafone Idea lost a total of -1,359,972 wireless subscribers and Reliance Jio added a total of 1,658,448 wireless subscribers in the month of January 2023, as reported by TRAI. Vodafone Idea is now almost two years on and has continued to lose wireless subscribers, despite having the most lucrative rates on the market. With January data, Bharti Airtel’s wireless subscriber base stands at 368,890,517, Vodafone Idea Wireless subscriber base at 239,964,110, and Jio Wireless subscriber base at 426,174,687.
VLR percentage
In terms of VLR rate, Bharti Airtel recorded the highest rate of 99.30, followed by Reliance Jio with 92.56 and Vodafone Idea with VLR rate of 87.15.
Read also: 1 million unique customers connected to the Airtel 5G network in Mumbai
Mumbai circle
Looking at the Mumbai circle, the financial capital of India, Vodafone Idea is losing subscribers and lost -126,879 wireless subscribers in the month of January. On the other hand, Airtel has already announced 1 million unique 5G subscribers on its network in Mumbai circle.
4G network enhancement
In October, Vodafone Idea announced that its 4G network capacity in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. However, if we also look at October’s wireless subscriber numbers, Vodafone Idea lost subscribers in the affected circle and lost -60,387 subscribers in January.
Vodafone Idea’s lucrative offer doesn’t help
If we recall, Vodafone Idea indirectly lowered rates by adding more value to its subscriptions. Despite Night Unlimited – Binge All Night, Weekend Data Rollover, Data Delight – Free monthly 2GB of backup data every month, free extra data with online orders, OTT bundles and other benefits, Vodafone Idea is constantly losing subscribers.
Despite all the support from the government, there was a recent report that without tariff increases, Vodafone idea store would close. However, the telco is only trying to lower rates further indirectly as a measure, which in any case does not help it when we look at the total number of subscribers.
Read also: Vodafone Idea Data and voice volumes remain low despite lucrative offers
5G network rollout in India
Airtel and Jio are rolling out 5G networks and even offering unlimited 5G data for their 5G subscribers. Airtel 5G Plus is available in more than 500 cities and Jio in more than 406 cities. India is witnessing one of the fastest 5G rollouts in the world while there are no 5G network announcements from Vodafone Idea.
