The incumbent operators faced the onslaught of free offers and cheaper rates from Jio.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, however, continued to add wireless subscribers
Bulk of these customers use 2G phones and are still focused on voice services and might prove useful for both Bharti Airtel and the Idea-Vodafone combine.
Active subscriber base declined by 2.2 million on a month-on-month (MoM) basis to 970.2 million in August 2019, on the back of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea losing customers. Jio was the only operator to add 7.2 million active subscribers in the same month.
Cut-throat competition, high spectrum costs, and frequent flip-flops in government policies have made it difficult for Vodafone to make money in the country.
'The government is unwilling or unable to provide the kind of relief that Vodafone India is asking for.'
Airtel, Vodafone, BSNL increase subscriber share while Idea manages to retain
Under the UASL norms, spectrum is linked to licences, and a particular band of radio wave is restricted to be used in a particular technology
Ahead of the coming auction of 2G telecom spectrum, the government has decided to allow all players to bid for all bands.
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accepted recommendation of the empowered group of ministers that all existing mobile phone companies must pay one-time spectrum charge.
The uniform SUC, if implemented as per recommendations made by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, will provide relief for mobile operators such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, but will increase rates for broadband wireless access spectrum holders like RJIL.
A large team led by Kumar Mangalam Birla has taken charge of the integration process.
The big advantage that Jio is able to garner currently is its low cost of operations.
Of the two big players, while Bharti Airtel can leverage its existing subscriber base, newcomer Reliance Jio will have to wean away subscribers from the incumbents
The company is targeting 100 million subscribers in shortest possible time, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani said
Telecom companies that bought spectrum in the 2G auction of November last year would lose around Rs 4,000 crore
Global rating agency Fitch on Tuesday said the imminent entry of Reliance Jio into the telecom space will see a likely 20 per cent fall in data tariffs, but will not have any impact on the credit profile of the top four incumbents in the medium term as their revenue is on an uptick on rising voice tariffs and improving regulatory environment.
While only 78.15 per cent of Jio's total subscriber base was active, Airtel boasts of 98.14 per cent active customers.
While the draft M&A policy for the telecom sector has been revised a few times over the past few months, DoT has not made any major changes to guidelines.
7 rounds have been completed with bidding in all 4 bands
The market could see a fresh round of tariff war, similar to what happened in the voice market a few years ago.
The auction will continue on Tuesday as there is still some spectrum left.
The auction will continue on Monday.
The spectrum auction has already generated record amount.
Bharti Airtel called the prices exorbitant while Vodafone Idea wants the auctions take place in 2020. The auctions need to happen when the infrastructure is ready for the roll out, be it in terms of fiberisation levels, or optimisation of equipment and software etc. Spending a hefty amount on a technology (airwaves) that at present offers limited returns is not going to be a priority for the incumbent telcos.
Battleground shifts to rural and small towns, where user base aspires to upgrade to smartphones.
Raises cap of market share for merged entity to 50%, spectrum trading allowed, with riders.
Providing services like broadband connectivity, cable TV, enterprise solutions, and payment wallets is the need of the hour for telcos, and a second wave of consolidation is upon the industry, a rating agency said on Tuesday. India Ratings and Research said the sector, which was battered following the aggressive entry of Reliance Jio, will continue showing signs of recovery amid conducive regulatory environment and maintained a "stable" outlook for the industry in FY22. The second round of consolidation (Consolidation 2.0) is kicking-in in the industry, which will bring a transformation in the business models of telecom companies, leading to the evolution of incumbents from the providers of traditional voice-only services to complete digital solutions for households, it said.
Reliance-Google's new smartphone has got mixed reviews from analysts and brokerages. The phone pricing is seen unattractive for low-end customers and bundled offers are being viewed as non-disruptive. While this could slow the pace of adoption, it could set the stage for tariff hikes in the industry, feel analysts.
With slower than expected growth in smartphone penetration, operators and OEMs are joining hands to provide affordable mobile devices with attractive offers.
Jio is in a neck and neck battle with Airtel, which added a similar number of subscribers as Jio in the 15 months from February 2017 to April 2018
Companies might have to shell out a fourth of the industry's annual net revenue to clear the obligation
According to a Deutsche Bank report, the Idea-Vodafone combine will have to pay a 30 per cent lower annual installment on spectrum due to the longer duration of the payment tenure.
Cellular operators' body COAI had, last year, alleged that the new entrant Reliance Jio was attempting to acquire customers by offering connection loaded with freebies, in the guise of a trial launch.
Spectrum auction kitty dips to Rs 1.05 lakh crore.
India's telecom sector has been through dizzying peaks, troughs, policy U-turns, court battles, brutal competition, and daily controversies. India could go back to a private sector duopoly with just Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel surviving the mayhem. The third player, Vodafone Idea, could be history.
Given the escalating cost of doing business, the revenue opportunity is decreasing and consolidation is an inevitable part of the industry.
The freebies are now over, but Jio will need to notch up subscriber numbers and margins to prove its sceptics wrong.
There are 29 licences in 18 service areas which will expire in 2015-16.
The launch of services by Jio in September 2016 had disrupted the whole telecom sector, with operators matching low rates to maintain competitive edge
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