Reliance Jio continues to add users to its growing network on the back of affordable data plans and wide range 4G connectivity.
According to the latest data from TRAI, the operator managed to pick more than 10 million users in October, all at the cost of its competition Airtel and Vodafone Idea Limited combined which lost over 9 million users during the same period.
Interestingly, the same report highlights that only Reliance Jio and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) were able to add new users to their respective network, while everyone saw a big drop in their subscriber numbers.
Reliance Jio and BSNL jointly added over 10.08 million new mobile phone customers, while rest of the operators -- Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtlel, Tata Teleservices, MTNL and Reliance Communications -- lost more than 10.1 million customers.
Vodafone Idea lost 7.36 million mobile subscribers, Airtel 1.86 million, Tata Teleservices lost .92 million, MTNL 8,068 and RCom 3,831 customers, as highlighted in the TRAI report.
These numbers mean that Reliance Jio has now over 260 million users on its 4G network, increasing its overall market share to 22.46 percent. Vodafone Idea Limited, even after being the biggest loser during the period, continues to lead the segment with over 427 million users, followed by Airtel in the second place.
Analysts have estimated that 2019 could be the year when Jio could surpass Airtel to become the second largest network provider in the country and we’re slowly but surely heading towards it, which is likely to concern Airtel which currently has over 29 percent market share.
All this suggests that both Vodafone Idea and Airtel need to fasten their reach for 4G connectivity, and invest in future technologies, rather than pushing their weight on 3G and even 2G in 2019.
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