Mobile User Base in India Dips For First Time in 12 Months, Reliance Jio Lone Gainer

New Delhi, May 22: The number of mobile users in the country has gone down for the first time in 12 months. According to subscription data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday, the number of mobile users went down by 22 million in March this year, the biggest decline since April 2018. The total mobile user base reduced from 1.18 billion at the end of February to 1.16 billion at the end of March.

The TRAI data shows the mobile user base witnessed a monthly decline rate of 1.85 per cent. While major telecom operators lost customers in March, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio was the lone gainer. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea lost 15.1 million and 14.5 million users respectively in March, mainly because of their minimum recharge plans. Reliance Jio added 94.9 users in March. Cabinet Approves Law Amendments for Aadhaar As Optional KYC For Mobile Numbers, Bank Accounts.

In April 2018, there was a net decline of 58 million mobile phone users, TRAI data had sown. This was, however, primarily due to Aircel filing for bankruptcy proceedings, said a report. Earlier, in January 2018 there was a 1.3 per cent (15.5 million) decline in the mobile subscriber base. The reason was the closure of mobile phone calling services by Reliance Communications and subscriber losses by Aircel, Telenor and Tata Teleservices.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2019 09:49 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).