Telecom Subscribers in India June 2022: Reliance Jio added another 4 million subscribers in June

Telecom Subscribers in India June 2022

Before we launch ourselves into scanning the total number of subscribers for each of the telecom operators, it is necessary to understand the methodology used to count the same. So you see, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) releases a monthly count of subscribers to both the wireless and wired communication media. It is for the benefit of the entire industry and the operators themselves in order to gauge their performance. 

Key Metrics to Watch

While analyzing any data, it is essential to look for certain key data points that tell us the entire story. So how do you measure the total number of telecom subscribers? 

HLR: HLR or the Home Location Register is the central repository of all the SIM cards issued by a telecom operator. The International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) is the primary key for HLR tracking. The IMSI is essentially a unique identity that pertains to each and every SIM card holder.

VLR: Visitor Location Register is another very important metric used to count the number of subscribers. This is more of a temporary database pertaining to the area in which a subscriber had roamed in the specific time period. 

Can there exist a discrepancy between HLR and VLR?

Oh yes! Remember that if a subscriber is active he is represented in both HLR and VLR. But in case he has either moved to an out-of-coverage area or has switched off his device or is simply not reachable, then the subscriber can come under HLR but not VLR.

Now, with this brief understanding let’s scan through the telecom subscriber count of the various operators. 

Total Telephone Subscribers in India in June 2022

As India enters the last quarter to complete 100 years of being a free and independent nation, the total number of connected citizens plays a key role in enhancing economic growth. In the month of June, the country added 2.22 million people as part of its total telephone subscriber base. Growth was seen in both the urban and rural areas. As per market share terms, 90% of the subscribers chose private players as their telecom operators while the remaining 10% was shared by the two public sector companies BSNL and MTNL.

Jio Subscribers in India 2022: 

Compared to its other rivals, Reliance Jio added a staggering 4.22 million wireless subscribers in the month of June. This takes the total number of subscribers to 413.01 million. According to the operator, the number of low-paying subscribers has now dipped while simultaneously adding more smartphone users to its customer base driven largely by the low-cost JioPhone Next smartphones.

Airtel SIM Users in India 2022: 

On one hand, if Reliance Jio gleefully added close to 4 million users to its customer base, Bharti Airtel had to suffice with a modest 0.79 million additions to its wireless subscriber count. This apparently indicates the impact of the hike in the tariff prices undertaken last winter. Airtel now has a total of 362.96 million subscribers.

VI Subscribers in India 2022: 

Reflecting its continued struggles in the 4G operational front, Vodafone Idea (VI), unlike its competitors, lost around 1.8 million customers in June. This has made the analysts worried that unless Vodafone Idea finds a way out of the cash crunch it is facing currently, the launch of the 5G services later this year by Jio and Airtel will only aggravate the cash-strapped operator's distress.

Now let’s turn our attention to the VLR metric.

The visitor location register metric that we had discussed above tells a slightly different story. 

Bharti Airtel has the highest number of active subscribers at around 98.41% (basically, of its total registered subscribers, close to 98% are active) while the same for Reliance Jio was 92.79%. Further, Vodafone Idea had 85.2% active subscribers.

Moreover, there was also an increase in the number of requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to 9.02 million subscribers in June. The total number of MNP requests is now 714.56 million since inception.

Total Wireline Subscribers in India June 2022

The total wireline subscribers in India rose from 25.23 million to 25.57 million in June month. Also, the wireline teledensity in India increased to 1.86% in June from 1.83% reported in May. If you look at the private versus public numbers, the private operators combined had a market share of 61.53% while the public or PSU operators had the remaining 38.47% market share.

Total Broadband Subscribers in India in June 2022

The pandemic had ushered in a wave of demand for broadband services as even low-income families were keen on having a slice of the pie. People prioritized education and work over the cost of internet connectivity across the country. June month was no different as total broadband subscribers increased to over 800 million compared to 794 million in May. A peek into the broadband user base helps us realize that sequentially, the fixed wireless segment of broadband (Wi-Fi Max, Point-to-Point, and VSAT) rose the highest compared to the other segments. Speaking of the overall market share, Reliance Jio is once again a dominant player with a whopping 52.33% share followed by Bharti Airtel’s 27.39% market share. Vodafone Idea clocked 15.35% of the total market share followed by BSNL with 3.12%.