Mobile User Growth Rises in September; Vodafone Idea Stabilises
Jefferies report reveals a rise in active mobile subscriber additions in September, with signs of stability for Vodafone Idea and M2M growth.
India's telecom landscape witnessed a positive shift in September as active mobile subscriber additions showed an improvement. According to a recent report by Jefferies, the active mobile subscriber base—excluding machine-to-machine (M2M) connections—grew by 0.9 million, bringing the total to 1.068 billion. This marks a slight increase over the 0.8 million additions recorded in August.
Vodafone Idea: A Glimmer of Stability
For Vodafone Idea (VIL), the news is cautiously optimistic. While the company continued to lose active mobile subscribers, the rate of decline has slowed significantly. In September, the base dropped by 0.3 million, which is a notable improvement compared to its average monthly loss of 0.7 million over the past year.
Jefferies suggests that this moderation indicates early signs of stabilisation. The brokerage noted that the ongoing expansion of network sites is expected to help VIL maintain its subscriber base in the long run. Projections suggest that Vodafone Idea's active mobile subscriber base (excluding M2M) could settle around 171-172 million during FY27-28.
Bharti Airtel: Navigating Tariff Changes
Bharti Airtel experienced a slight dip in its active subscriber base, which declined by 0.2 million in September. This trend followed specific tariff hikes implemented in mid-August. Despite this, Airtel's overall wireless base grew by 2.69 million subscribers according to TRAI data, and its active mobile subscriber market share remained firm at 37.5 per cent.
The outlook for Airtel remains positive, as Jefferies believes the impact of the tariff adjustments is now largely in the past, paving the way for a recovery in subscriber additions moving forward.
The M2M Explosion and Broadband Growth
One of the most striking revelations in the report is the massive surge in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connections, which allow devices to communicate with one another. M2M additions skyrocketed to 4.3 million in September—the highest figure in six months.
- Market Dominance: Airtel added 2.5 million M2M connections, controlling approximately 61 per cent of the market.
- Overall Impact: M2M additions were more than 4.5 times the active mobile subscriber additions, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all wireless subscriber growth during the month.
- Total Base: The M2M subscriber base has now reached 145 million.
Beyond mobile services, India's home broadband sector also saw growth. The subscriber base increased by 0.6 million to reach 68.1 million. A significant portion of this growth—0.4 million—came from unlicensed band radio and fixed wireless access.
Intense Competition Persists
Despite the growth in numbers, the battle for customers remains fierce. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests climbed to 16.8 million in September, highlighting that users are still actively switching providers in search of better deals or services.
The coming months will be critical in determining if Bharti Airtel can bounce back from its tariff interventions and whether Vodafone Idea can successfully sustain its reduced rate of subscriber loss.