BSNL’s recent gains suggest a renewed trust in public telecommunications amid rising tariffs by private operators like Mukesh Ambani’s Jio, Sunil Mittal’s Airtel.
BSNL has witnessed a notable surge in its user base, with 5.5 million customers porting their numbers to its network between July and October 2024. This shift follows the tariff hikes by private telecom operators, including Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Airtel, in June 2024.
JIo, Airtel VS BSNL
According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), BSNL experienced a significant rise in customer migration in July 2024 was 1.5 million users ported to BSNL in August 2024 Port-ins peaked at 2.1 million. In September 2024 the numbers dropped to 1.1 million. In October 2024 the lowest migration was recorded, with 0.7 million users switching to BSNL.
This marks a dramatic improvement compared to June 2024, when BSNL recorded only 63,709 port-ins. Concurrently, the number of users leaving BSNL declined significantly, from 0.4 million in June to 0.26 million in August, although it rose again to 0.51 million in October.
Challenges in BSNL’s Market Share
Despite the influx of new users, BSNL faces challenges in retaining its overall customer base. A TelecomTalk report revealed that BSNL’s Wi-Fi subscriber count declined sharply from 1,092,650 in FY2020 to 406,600 by March 31, 2024, reflecting a long-term downward trend.
In the wireline broadband segment, BSNL maintained a 16.61% market share in September 2024, second only to Jio (40.61%) and Airtel (25.24%). MTNL, another public sector operator, held a modest 5.61% share.
Subscriber Loss For Airtel, Jio
The migration to BSNL coincides with substantial losses among private telecom companies. TRAI data shows that in September 2024 alone Mukesh Ambani led Jio lost 7.9 million subscribers. Vodafone Idea saw a decline of 1.5 million users. Sunil Mittal led Airtel reported a loss of 1.4 million subscribers.
In total, the private telecom sector experienced a loss of 10 million users in September, highlighting a significant shift in consumer preferences.
However, its declining Wi-Fi subscriber base and challenges in competing with the dominant market shares of Jio and Airtel highlight the need for strategic reforms. Investments in technology, service improvements, and competitive pricing will be crucial for BSNL to maintain and grow its user base in the long term.
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