Jio adds 32.8 lakh subscribers in August, Vi user base gets 19.6 lakh thinner: Trai

Telecom major Reliance Jio recorded an addition of 32.8 lakh mobile users in August, whereas, rival Vodafone Idea (Vi) lost 19.6 lakh subscribers during the month, as per the data shared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

The Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, which is considered to be the second largest network provider in India after Jio, added 3.26 lakh subscribers in August, the data showed.

Among the three private telecom firms, only Jio recorded a month-on-month increase in terms of new user connections. The company had, in July, onboarded 29.5 lakh new subscribers.

Bharti Airtel added 5.13 lakh users in July, whereas, Vi lost 15.4 lakh subscribers during the month.
The state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) also continued to lose subscribers, as 5.71 lakh users left the network in August as compared to a loss of 8.19 lakh users in July.

While the BSNL is facing erosion in its user base, the government is working on a plan to rejuvenate the company. In July, the Union Cabinet had clear approved a Rs 1.64-lakh crore revival package, which is aimed at improving the quality of BSNL services, de-stress the balance sheet, and expand the company's fiber reach by merging Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) with it.