Reliance Jio continued to lead India’s telecom market in September, adding nearly 10 times more core mobile subscribers than Bharti Airtel. According to TRAI data cited in analyst reports, India’s core mobile subscriber base, excluding machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, increased by 2.2 million month-on-month to reach 1.15 billion.
Jio accounted for 1.9 million of these additions, while Airtel added approximately 0.2 million subscribers. This made Jio the biggest contributor to India’s core mobile subscriber growth during the month.
At the end of September, Jio had 511.14 million core mobile subscribers, maintaining its lead over Airtel, which reported 494.29 million.
Airtel’s Subscriber Additions Slow Down
Airtel recorded its lowest core mobile subscriber addition in recent months, with just 0.2 million new users in September.
Analysts have linked the slowdown partly to Airtel’s decision to discontinue its affordable ₹299 prepaid plan in August. The withdrawal may have affected its ability to attract and retain price-sensitive customers.
Airtel reported 2.69 million gross wireless subscriber additions during September. However, its much smaller increase in core mobile subscribers suggests that a significant portion of the growth came from M2M connections rather than regular mobile users.
Jio Gains Active Users While Airtel and Vi Lose Ground
The active subscriber numbers further highlight Jio’s performance during September.
The industry’s core Visitor Location Register (VLR), which indicates active mobile connections, increased by 0.6 million during the month. Jio alone added 1.3 million active users.
In comparison, Airtel lost approximately 0.2 million active subscribers, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) recorded a decline of 0.3 million.
This indicates that Jio was the only major private telecom operator among the three to increase its active subscriber base during the month. Its performance also highlights the difference between total registered connections and users actively accessing mobile networks.
Jio Strengthens Its Lead Over Airtel
September’s subscriber figures show Jio maintaining its lead over Airtel in both core mobile subscriber additions and total subscriber base.
The operator added nearly nine out of every 10 net core mobile subscribers gained by the industry during the month. Its growth in active users also contrasted with the declines recorded by Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
For Airtel, the latest numbers highlight the challenge of improving core subscriber growth and retaining price-sensitive customers following changes to its prepaid portfolio.
For Jio, the September performance reinforces its position as the leading contributor to India’s mobile subscriber growth.
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