Reliance Jio Overtakes Airtel to Become Second Largest Telecom Operator in India

Jul. 20, 2019

In a development that was a long time coming,Reliance Jiohas finally edged past Bharti Airtel to become the second largest telecom service provider in the country by subscriber count. According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Mukesh Ambani-led company overtook the nation’s erstwhile number one carrier last May by adding 8.2 million users, while both Airtel and Vodafone Idea both saw a decline in their subscriber count.

As per TRAI, Jio ended May with 322.98 million users as against Airtel’s 320.38 million users. Vodafone Idea continues to lead the market with 387.55 million subscribers. Meanwhile, the only other telco that managed to add subscribers during May was the state-owned BSNL, which gained 24,276 new users during the month.

Overall, TRAI says Vodafone Idea has 33.36 percent of the market share, followed by Reliance Jio with 27.80 percent, while Bharti Airtel comes in at number three with 27.58 percent. BSNL and Tata Tele rounds off the top-five with 9.98 percent and 0.30 percent market share, respectively.

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