With the highest number of subscribers, Reliance Jio remains the king of the telecom market in India. The telco witnessed growth in revenue market share (RMS) as compared to its previous quarter. At the same time, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea (Vi), and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) saw a decline in their RMS QoQ. This means that the telcos apart from Jio need more subscribers opting for the higher-tariff plans to help expand their revenue. According to a report from Axis Capital, Reliance Jio was the only operator in the country, which saw a growth in RMS in the Q3 FY21.
Jio Leads the RMS Chart Amongst all the Operators in the Country
Reliance Jio had the highest RMS amongst all the operators in the country, which increased from 38.3% in the previous quarter to 39.3% in the October-December quarter in 2020. Bharti Airtel took the second place with 31.3% RMS, which was a drop from the 31.6% from the previous quarter. Vi’s RMS dipped from 20.9% in the previous quarter to 20.8% in the October-December quarter, which is not a healthy sign, says Emkay. The telco had reduced its customer loss rate in the third quarter, reporting a subscriber loss of 2 million in the quarter against the 8 million during the previous one. BSNL’s RMS also took a downfall from 7.2% in the previous quarter to 6.8% in the October-December quarter. In terms of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) market share, Jio was the leader in 19 out of 22 circles of India, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). Airtel and Vi lead in 2 and 1 circles, respectively. For increasing their RMS, telcos need more customers to opt for their higher-priced plans and are likely to delay in introducing tariff hikes. If Airtel keeps on adding new subscribers at the same rate, it might catch up with Jio very soon.
