Bharti Airtel gains as co pips Jio in monthly mobile subscriber addition after 4 years

Shares of Bharti Airtel advanced nearly 2 per cent in Friday’s early trade after data published by telecom regulator Trai on Thursday showed that the telecom player pipped Reliance Jio in new mobile subscriber addition in September after a gap of four years.

The scrip traded 1.93 per cent higher at Rs 489.20 at around 9.26 am (IST), while the benchmark BSE Sensex was up 0.37 per cent at 44,797.

Reliance Jio had maintained a leadership position in monthly mobile subscriber addition since the launch of its commercial operations in September 2016. It had added 15.97 million new customers when it commenced commercial operations.

Bharti Airtel led mobile subscriber growth in September 2020 with a net addition of 3.77 million new customers. It was followed by Reliance Jio with a net addition of 1.46 million and BSNL with 78,454 new customers.

Vodafone Idea was the biggest loser as it lost 4.65 million subscribers during the reported month. MTNL and Reliance Communications lost 5,784 and 1,324 customers, respectively. Shares of Vodafone Idea was down 0.10 per cent at Rs 9.93 in the early trade.

Reliance Jio led the market in terms of overall mobile subscriber base with 404.12 million customers. It was followed by Bharti Airtel with 326.61 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 295.49 million customers, BSNL with 118.89 million subscribers and MTNL with 3.33 million customers.

The total telecom subscriber base in the country increased marginally to 1,168.66 million in the reported month from 1,167.81 million in August.