In December 2022, cash-strapped Vi lost users to Reliance Jio and Airtel. The ailing carrier lost 2.47 million users in December 2022 and is the only private operator in the nation that hasn’t launched 5G services.
Reliance Jio, run by Mukesh Ambani, added 1.7 million customers during that time, followed by Airtel, which added 1.52 million. In December 2022, the total subscriber count decreased by 1.12 million subscribers, going from 1.143 billion to 1.142 billion.
The active subscriber base experienced the biggest net increase in the previous 10 months in December 2022, giving carriers a boost. The three telecoms reported a net increase in active subscribers of 8.6 million.
Jio took the lead in terms of net subscriber addition, but Airtel claimed the highest growth in active subscribers, with 5.98 million more than Jio’s 2.97 million. Alternatively, Vi lost 0.12 million active subscribers. With 3.8 million and 2.9 million active subscribers, respectively, A-circles and B-circles are in the lead overall. Moreover, Metros claimed a rise in active subscribers of 1.6 million.
After Airtel’s 365 million active subscribers, Jio currently has 391 million active subscribers. With 209.6 million active customers, Vi is once again behind. Given the deterioration of its circumstances, Vodafone Idea posted a net loss of ₹7,990 crores in the third quarter. The company posted a loss of ₹7,596 crores in Q2, thus this was just a little more than that.
The number of users for the telco has fallen to 241.32 million after losing 2.47 million customers in December 2022. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), its gross subscriber count has decreased from 265 million in January 2022 to 241.32 million in December 2022, a reduction of 23.68 million users during that time.
Reliance Jio has increased the size of its customer base, bringing the total to 424.52 million. By December 2022, the corporation had 424.52 million gross customers, up from 406 million in January 2022. The telco posted a net profit of 4,881 in the third quarter, up slightly from the previous quarter’s net profit of 4,729 crores.
For Airtel, December 2022 has proven to be a great month. The telco not only announced a rise in net subscribers of 1.52 million but also a rise in active members of nearly 6 million, the biggest rise in two years. The telco recorded a net profit for the third quarter of ₹1,588 crores, which was far less than anticipated.