January 2021 saw Vodafone Idea (Vi) register its first monthly increase in subscribers for over a year, amid a broader nationwide trend towards subscriber growth.
Data from regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) shows that Vi had 286 million subscribers at the end of January 2021, an increase of 1.7 million within a month.
Vi’s main rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio respectively added 5.9 million and 1.9 million within the same period, taking their totals to 344.6 million and 410.7 million.
The operator was created in August 2018 by a merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, uniting their customers to create a new base of more than 400 million subscribers. However, for every quarter since, Vi has shed subscribers from this total.
Vi noted that it had increased its number of 4G subscribers year-on-year, attributing subscriber retention during its fiscal Q3 to an augmented 4G offering. While its revenue fell for the quarter, it also registered a lower net loss.
