The Telecom Regulatory Authority Data (TRAI) continues to paint a worrying picture for Vodafone Idea, which has now become a sub-Rs 6 stock after a fall a 74 percent since the start of the year. TRAI data for the month of June shows Vodafone Idea has lost over 41 lakh subscribers taking its total subscriber loss to over 3 crore subscribers since the start of the year. This loss for Vodafone idea is on account of subscriber churn due to minimum ARPU (average revenue per user) plans and continued ARPU downgrading at the higher end. This is also reflected in the June quarter numbers as revenues have dropped 4.3 percent sequentially and the company has reported a massive loss of over Rs 4,800 crore

The performance for Bharti Airtel in June has been more heartening with the company having arrested the fall in its subscribers. In fact from a peak subscriber loss of 1.5 crore in January, the loss in June stands at less than 30,000. The resilience of Bharti’s India wireless performance in the face of intense competition is the reason why the Bharti stock has gained 26 percent in 2019.

The subscriber addition for Reliance Jio has been steady aided by strong offtake of Jio phones and cheaper monthly plans.

All operators added broadband subscribers in the month of June, the highest being Jio which commands a lion’s share of the broadband market at 55.7 percent.

Disclosure: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com.

First Published:Aug 19, 2019 3:52 PM IST