TRAI Data Shows Vodafone-Idea Lost 3.6 Crore Users In November

According to TRAI data, Vodafone-Idea has lost 3.6 crore users in November in India. Whereas Mukesh Ambani- owned Reliance Jio added 56 lakhs subscribers in the country. The data says that the subscriber base of both Jio and Airtel increased by 1.54 percent and 0.51 percent, respectively during the same month. On the other hand, the Vodafone-Idea lost 9.77 percent user base in November and overall the telco has lost 10.5 crore users, ever since they have announced their merger.

In fact, analysts also asserted that this was expected as all operators have raised tariffs by 30 to 42 percent, and this was the first hike after 2016. This development comes after Vodafone-Idea added 0.2 million subscribers in the country in October, while Airtel added only 0.1 million customers. Lastly, Reliance Jio has garnered 9.1 million subscribers.

Surprisingly, Airtel has added 16 lakh subscribers in November and BSNL garnered 3.4 lakh users in India. Furthermore, TRAI data reveals that 48 lakhs subscribers requested for mobile number portability. But if you see the October numbers than there were only 30 lakhs of users who wanted to change the number. This means that subscribers are not happy with their operator services.

"Cheaper plans are the primary reason for portability. Earlier you could arbitrage costs but now, with uniformity in prices across telcos, there is no compelling reason to port," Rajan Mathews, director-general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), was quoted by Economic Times. Adding to that, "Retaining an old customer is much more expensive than getting a new one, which costs a telco Rs. 250 per customer."

Apart from that, TRAI says that the telephone subscribers have declined in November. The data states the numbers have reached 115.4 crore in November as compared to 118.3 crore in October 2019. This means there is a decline of 2.40 percent. Overall, the mobile user base has also declined during the same month, the regulator data reveals.