Reliance Jio Adds 2.2 Million Subscribers in May, Leads Indian Telecom Market
In May, Reliance Jio added 2.2 million net subscribers and 3.5 million active subscribers, marking its 27th consecutive month of growth. Jio’s visitor location register (VLR) ratio improved to 92.1%, reflecting a growing active user base, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The telecom sector added about 6.1 million mobile broadband (MBB) subscribers. Bharti Airtel reported strong MBB additions with 2.6 million new subscribers, though its active subscriber growth was lower at 0.9 million, resulting in a slight decrease in its VLR ratio to 99.1%. Vodafone Idea (VIL) added 0.8 million MBB subscribers but saw declines in both overall and active subscriber bases, losing 0.9 million and 1.7 million subscribers, respectively.
In the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) segment, Jio recorded its highest additions at 0.38 million, driven by the aggressive rollout of JioAirFiber, while Bharti Airtel saw moderate FTTH growth with 0.11 million new subscribers. Despite the industry’s moderate overall subscriber addition of 2 million in May, Jio’s strong performance underscores its leading position in the Indian telecom market.
In May, about 12 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP), increasing the cumulative MNP requests from 973.60 million at the end of April to 985.60 million at the end of May. The mobile broadband sector continued to show robust growth with an addition of 6.1 million subscribers.
Jio’s net subscriber additions in May 2024 mark the 27th consecutive month of growth, with monthly increases ranging from 0.7 million to 4.2 million since March 2022. The company has seen consistent growth following a subscriber loss in early 2022 due to SIM consolidation after a tariff hike in November 2021.
According to TRAI, the number of active wireless subscribers in May stood at 1059.73 million. Jio also registered significant growth in FTTH subscriptions, with a peak addition of 0.38 million subscribers in May 2024, up from 0.35 million in April 2024. Last month, Jio announced new unlimited plans effective from July 3, aiming to leverage technology to deliver the best value and services to its users.
Doubts Revealed
Reliance Jio -: Reliance Jio is a big company in India that provides mobile and internet services. It is part of the larger Reliance Industries.
Subscribers -: Subscribers are people who sign up to use a service, like a mobile phone or internet connection.
Net subscribers -: Net subscribers are the total number of new people who joined a service after subtracting those who left.
Active subscribers -: Active subscribers are people who are currently using the service regularly.
VLR ratio -: VLR ratio stands for Visitor Location Register ratio. It shows the percentage of active users out of the total subscribers.
Telecom sector -: The telecom sector includes companies that provide communication services like phone and internet.
Mobile broadband subscribers -: Mobile broadband subscribers are people who use the internet on their mobile phones.
Bharti Airtel -: Bharti Airtel is another big company in India that provides mobile and internet services.
Vodafone Idea -: Vodafone Idea is a company in India that also provides mobile and internet services.
Fiber-to-the-home -: Fiber-to-the-home means providing internet services directly to homes using fiber optic cables, which are very fast.
MNP requests -: MNP stands for Mobile Number Portability. It allows people to change their mobile service provider without changing their phone number.
