SIM consolidation later, telecom sector sees changes in subscriber shares

Overall subscribers fall, but active users rise

The three private sector telecom operators lost 37 million subscribers last fiscal as SIM consolidation weeded out inactive ones.

But their active subscriber base grew 3% on-year, or by ~29 million.

Reliance Jio saw its total subscriber base fall sharply between August 2021 and February 2022. However, the share of its active subscribers reached ~94% in March 2022, compared with 78% in the first quarter of last fiscal as the active subscriber base remained unaffected because of SIM consolidation.

Similarly, for Bharti Airtel, the share of active subscribers improved by a percentage point to ~99% in the fourth quarter. It added ~11 million active subscribers during fiscal 2022.

Vodafone Idea’s performance was a mixed bag, as it did not replicate its peers’ trends and lost ~30 million active subscribers in fiscal 2022. It continued to witness a decline in its subscriber base because of low capex in 4G and deterioration of services, while its peers have incrementally invested in 4G sites.