VI lost 13 lakh subscribers in July '23 while Jio gained 39 lakh
Vodafone Idea lost 13.21 lakh wireless subscribers in the month of July, 2023. While, Bharti Airtel added 15.17 lakh subscribers in the same month.
Aditya Birla Group-owned telecom, Vodafone Idea continues to lose market share both in the wireless and wireless segment of the telecom industry. In July 2022, the telecom had a market share of 22.22 per cent in the wireless segment. This has fallen to 19.92 per cent in July 2023. While, its rivals both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have gained market share both in the wireless and wireline segment during the same period.
Market share of telecoms in wireless segment
| Telecom | July’23 (Market Share in %) | July’22 ( Market Share in %) |
| Jio | 38.60 | 36.23 |
| Airtel | 32.74 | 31.66 |
| VI | 19.92 | 22.22 |
| BSNL | 8.57 | 9.4 |
| MTNL | 0.17 | 0.24 |
Vodafone Idea lost 13.21 lakh wireless subscribers in the month of July, 2023. While, Bharti Airtel added 15.17 lakh subscribers in the same month. Whereas, India’s largest telecom Reliance Jio added 39.07 lakh wireless subscribers in the same month.
Market share of private telecoms in the wireless segment currently stand at 91.26 per cent while that of PSUs stand at 8.74 per cent.
In the wireline segment as well, VI, BSNL and MTNL are massively losing subscribers. And this has benefited Jio and Airtel. The top two telecoms, Reliance Jio and Airtel have garnered more and more of the market share as the other three kept on losing them.
Market share of telecoms in wireline segment
| Telecom | July’23 (Market Share in %) | July’22 (Market Share in %) |
| Jio | 33.16 | 27.67 |
| Airtel | 25.03 | 23.72 |
| VI | 2.21 | 2.56 |
| BSNL | 21.02 | 27.89 |
| MTNL | 7.41 | 10.21 |
Interesting thing is that debt-laden and troubled public sector telecom BSNL was the market leader in this segment with a market share of 27.89 per cent in July 2022. But, it lost market share in this one year period. BSNL’s market share fell down to 21.02 per cent in July 2023 from 27.89 per cent. As a result, Jio remains numero uno in wireline segment as well. Jio’s market share in wireline segment increased to 33.16 per cent. While, that of its rival Bharti Airtel increased to 25.03 per cent. During the same period, VI’s market share fell to 2.21 per cent YoY in July 2023 from 2.56 per cent in July 2022.
PSU telecoms have lost 10 per cent market share in wireline segment in last one year:
All together, market share of private telecoms in the wireline segment currently stands at 71.56 per cent up from 61.90 per cent in July 2022. While, that of PSUs fell to 28.44 per cent in July 2023 from 38.10 per cent in year ago period.
Overall, total telephone subscribers in the country currently stand at 117.69 crore in July 2023, up 0.28 per cent from 117.37 crore in July 2022.