The fight between Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the Indian telecom industry is a story of David and Goliath. The two telecom companies have been embroiled in an all-out competition, with little different methods, but both companies are also vying for the top spot in the country. While Reliance Jio boasts of having the most number of wireless subscribers in India, Bharti Airtel boasts of having the most active subscribers. This is a significant difference since the active subscribers are the ones who are going to be paying for the services and returning back for more, thus driving the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). As per the latest report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on subscribers’ data, Reliance Jio seems to be making some solid progress.
Bharti Airtel Active Subscribers
As per the TRAI report, out of the total wireless subscribers (1,176.84 million), 986.11 million wireless subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in the month of May-21. The proportion of active wireless subscribers was approximately 83.79% of the total wireless subscriber base. The TRAI report also highlighted that Bharti Airtel has the maximum proportion (97.99%) of its active wireless subscribers (VLR) as against its total wireless subscribers (HLR) on the date of peak VLR. Hence, the total number of active wireless subscribers on Bharti Airtel’s network amount to 341.28 million.
Reliance Jio Active Subscribers
However, the noteworthy figure is of Reliance Jio, which boasts of having the maximum number of wireless subscribers. The total number of wireless subscribers for Reliance Jio stands at 431.23 million, but it has a comparatively lesser percentage of its subscribers on the active side, with only 78.37% subscribers being counted in the VLR. Hence, the total active subscribers of Reliance Jio come out to be 337.97 million. What’s interesting to note is the shortening divide between Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio in active subscribers (VLR), which might mean in a few months, Jio might surpass Airtel in this metric as well. It will be interesting to see how the impact of such an event will yield on the ARPU side.
