Indian Broadband Subscribers Cross 50 Crore Mark For The First Time; Jio Boasts Over 50 Per Cent Market Share

According to latest data, the number of broadband subscribers in India increased to 51.19 crore at the end of November 2018 as compared to 49.2 crore at October-end, showing a growth rate of 3.18 per cent on a month-on-month basis, reports TelecomTalk.

In the same period, while the number of Indians going online through mobile devices (phones and dongles) increased by 3.39 per cent, the number of Fixed Wireless subscribers (Wifi, VSAT) declined by 49.51 per cent.

Reliance Jio retains the largest market share in broadband services (wired and wireless) at 53.05 per cent with 27.15 crore subscribers. It was followed by Vodafone Idea at 20.60 per cent share and 10.54 crore subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 20.46 per cent share and 10.47 crore subscribers.

At the bottom of the table, state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had a market share of four per cent with 2.04 crore users and Tata Tele Group with 0.45 per cent share and 23.2 lakh users.

Also, Reliance Jio was the only telecom company in India that added new mobile subscribers to its network in September 2018.

Jio Makes Money Too, Unlike Rivals

While Vodafone India, India’s largest telecom company posted a loss of Rs 4,974 crore for the September quarter ( FY 2018-19) and missed a Rs 900-crore spectrum linked payment to the government, Airtel’s profits fell by 65.4 per cent. However, Reliance Jio posted a net income of Rs 681 crore in the same quarter.

Also Read: 10 Reasons Why Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Is Winning The Telecom Sweepstakes