Reliance Jio pips Bharti Airtel to become second largest fixed-line service provider
Premium- Fixed-line or wireline telecommunication refers to telephone and broadband internet services provided through a network of cables
Telecom operator Reliance Jio has surpassed Bharti Airtel to become India's second largest fixed-line service provider in February 2022, according to data published by the sector regulator Trai. Jio is now behind BSNL which has over 75.76 lakh wireline customers.
Reliance Jio wireline subscriber base reached over 58.85 lakh while Bharti Airtel recorded a customer base of more than 57.66 lakh in the previous month. Fixed-line or wireline telecommunication refers to telephone and broadband internet services provided through a network of cables.
Reliance Jio led the growth by adding 2.44 lakh customers in February. Bharti Airtel came second in the segment by adding 91,243 new users. Vodafone Idea added 24,948 customers, Quadrant 18,622 and Tata Teleservices 3,772. BSNL and MTNL, that jointly have a 49.5% share in the segment, lost 49,074 and 21,900 fixed-line customers, respectively.
Overall, wireline subscribers base in the country reached 2.45 crore at the end of February 2022 from 2 crore in January 2021, according to the Trai data.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio lost 3.6 million customers in February and Vodafone Idea lost 1.5 million due to tariff hikes continued in the quarter ended March 2022, as they lost customers for the third consecutive month. Rival Bharti Airtel continued its subscriber gaining streak by adding 1.6 million subscribers in the month.
Overall subscriber base for the country shrunk by 3.7 million subscribers to 1.141 billion versus 1.145 billion in the previous month.
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