While BSNL may gain some market share due to lower tariffs, the state-run telecom company is unlikely to pose risks to the market share trajectory of Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio in the medium term, analysts say.
After losing subscribers for nearly two years straight, state-owned telecom company BSNL added 2.9 million users in July when its private sector rivals raised tariffs. With BSNL keeping tariffs unchanged, a large number of subscribers using entry-level plans have now shifted to the telco, analysts believe.
“Given that all private telcos had taken up tariffs effective at the beginning of July, a moderation in subscriber addition at the sector level was expected. BSNL may gain some share due to lower tariffs but is unlikely to pose risks to the market share trajectory of Bharti/Jio in the medium term,” a research note by Jefferies pointed out.
Jio, Airtel, and Vi currently hold 40.6 per cent, 33.1 per cent, and 18.4 per cent of the telecom wireless market, while BSNL has an 8 per cent share.
Wireless broadband subscriber (4G/5G) additions were steady at 5.3 million in July, despite tariff hikes. “This suggests that data subscribers are less price-sensitive than voice subscribers,” it said. A pickup in urban subscriber additions may have contributed to higher 4G/5G net additions in the latest month.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley said in a research note that the fall in overall subscribers nationally has been marginal.
The tariff hikes have also led to SIM consolidation and subscription cancellations, numbers indicate. The overall number of mobile phone connections in India decreased by 0.92 million in July, after rising by 1.58 million, 2 million, and 1.47 million in the preceding three months.
Trai data also revealed 13.68 million subscribers had submitted requests for mobile number portability (MNP) in July, up from 11.84 million in June.
After the tariff hikes, the premium of Airtel and Vodafone Idea has reduced across some popular plans.
Despite the latest additions, BSNL had 3.26 million fewer users at the end of July compared to the beginning of 2024. The current loss-making firm is aiming to roll out its homegrown 4G network nationwide with 1 lakh towers by the middle of next year.
First Published: Sep 24 2024 | 9:11 PM IST
