Late 2024: Tariff hike in government sector, consumer loss, Vi fundraising likely

By Sandy Verma On Dec 25, 2024

NEW DELHINew Delhi: The Indian telecom sector witnessed a mixed performance in 2024, including tariff hikes, subscriber base loss and a fund raise by loss-making telecom service provider Vodafone Idea. Despite these challenges, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) emerged as a surprise winner by increasing the number of users for the first time in recent years. In July, all major private telcos including Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea increased their tariff plans by 25%. The move reduced the number of subscribers, but helped improve average revenue per user (ARPU).

After the hike, these telecom companies saw a huge decline in customers. Jio lost 758,463 subscribers in July 2024, 4 million in August and 7.9 million in September 2024. Airtel lost 1.6 million customers in July, 2.4 million in August and 1.4 million in September. Vi, India's third telco, lost 1.4 million subscribers in July, 1.87 million in August and 1.5 million in September. Airtel, however, bounced back in October and added 0.9 million subscribers. BSNL experienced steady growth, gaining 2.94 million subscribers in July, 2.5 million in August, 800,000 in September and 500,000 in October.

A major development this year was the face-off between Indian telecom service providers and foreign satellite players like Starlink and Amazon. While Indian telecom companies like Airtel and Jio favored the auction route for satellite communications, foreign players preferred the allocation route to launch satellite services in the country. Interestingly, the Government of India is in favor of the allocation route.