Jio, Airtel drive subscriber gains in big cities in June: Jefferies

Jio

Subscriber additions in India’s telecom sector were once again led by urban markets in June, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel driving gains in Metros and A circles that helped offset losses in smaller towns, brokerage Jefferies said in a report.

“(Active) Subscriber additions were led by Metros (1.5 million) and A Circles (2.4 million), which account for around 45% of the sector's subscriber base; however, B Circles (0.5 million) and C-circles (0.8 million) witnessed subscriber decline,” Jefferies noted.

Active subscriber or VLR data reflects the number of users actively using a mobile network.

“This is the fourth straight month of Jio's outperformance over Bharti,” Jefferies said. “Jio's continued outperformance versus Bharti on active subscriber additions augurs well for the sector's overall tariff outlook.”

Jio’s active subscriber market share rose 130 basis points (bps) over the past year to 43%, aided by a 180-bps gain in B Circles and 130 bps in A Circles. Airtel’s share dipped 40 bps to 36%, weighed down by losses in B and C Circles despite gains in Metros. Vi’s share fell 180 bps to 16%, dragged down across Metro, A and B circles.

In overall wireless subscriber terms as well, Jio added 1.9 million users in June, more than twice Airtel’s 763,482, while Vi and state-run BSNL lost 217,816 and 305,766 users, respectively.

“Subscriber additions concentrated in a few markets. Bharti gained subscribers in Metros and A Circles and lost subscribers in B and C Circles,” Jefferies said.

It added that Airtel’s growth came mainly from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mumbai and West Bengal, while it lost users in Bihar, Kerala, Rajasthan and UP (East).

“Reliance Jio gained subscribers in Metros, A & B Circles and lost subscribers in C-circles. Jio's subscriber addition was concentrated in Gujarat, Mumbai, UP (W) and West Bengal, while it recorded losses in Assam, MP, Rajasthan and Orissa,” the report said.

For Vi, while subscriber losses continued, the rate of decline has moderated; it lost 4 million active users in the first half of 2025.

“In June, VIL lost active subs in 14 out of 22 circles, reflecting continued pressure on subscriber retention. (But) VIL's 4G subs increased by 0.7 million month-on-month after increasing by 1.0 million in May,” Jefferies said.

The telecom sector added 22.3 million active users over the first half of the year, indicating strong subscriber growth potential, the brokerage added. It also pointed out that mobile number portability (MNP) requests remained high at around 14 million in June, “possibly as users continue to shift between operators post tariff hikes…higher churn usually drives up dealer commissions/SG&A expenses for telcos.”

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