Reliance Jio adds 5 mn users in May, Airtel still emerges mkt leader

Reliance Jio added nearly 5 million users ( 4,786,324 subscribers ) and controlled 9.94 per cent of the telecom market in May, shows the latest report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

In May, Airtel led in terms of overall telecom market share, with 23.59 per cent subscribers. It was followed by Vodafone with a 17.86 per cent share, and Idea with 16.62. Reliance Jio was a distant fourth with 9.94 per cent subscribers.

According to the report, the telecom industry saw a net addition of 6,228,813 customers in May. While Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL, Reliance Jio and Idea Cellular continue to add subscribers to their base, telecom operators such as Telenor and Tata lose most of their subscribers.

Last year, Reliance Jio had entered the highly competitive telecom space with a free preview plan that offered unlimited free 4G high-speed data, VoLTE calls, SMS and app services for a period of six months.

After offering free services under its network-testing phase, Reliance Jio offered Prime membership under which the subscriber get 4G high-speed data at an ultra-affordable price. Also, the VoLTE calls, SMS, and app remains free and the customers are asked to pay only for the data services.

According to the Reliance Jio announcement made in March, the company achieved the milestone of converting 72 million subscribers to Prime membership.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

Reliance Communications (RCOM)