Trends & Forecasts

Subscriber numbers drop in India for first time

India’s mobile subscriber base has shrunk for the first time ever...

India’s mobile subscriber base has shrunk for the first time ever. According to figures released by the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) for July, subscriber numbers fell by over 20 million, dropping from 965.52 million to 944.81 million.

The majority of the disconnections were made up by inactive prepaid customers. Reliance Communications saw the biggest drop-off in its subscriber base, with 20.48 million inactive subscribers disconnected. In comparison, Tata Teleservices had 2.4 million inactive users, while Uninor had 1.1 million.

Despite the overall decrease, some of the larger operators reported a rise in numbers across July, with Bharti Airtel gaining 1.5 million customers and Vodafone India 1.2 million. Other major firms including Idea, Aircel and BSNL reported net gains, although their numbers were lower.

The drop in subscriber numbers is indicative of a recent shift in the legal definition of an active subscriber. Many Indian operators have been disconnecting inactive subscriptions in order to bring themselves in line with the new criteria.



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