Gujarat loses over 13 lakh mobile subscribers in September

Gujarat recorded a loss of 13.6 lakh mobile subscribers in the month of September, according to the latest data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority India. The report suggests that total subscriber base has shrunk from 7 crore to 6.8 crore.

According to a report by Times of India, the subscriber base fell due to the covid-19 pandemic. After the second wave of Covid-19, the spending capacity of users fell dramatically due to various reasons. Due to this, many users failed to recharge their phone numbers. Considering that telecom providers give users some time before deactivating a number, the failed connections only started to reflect in the month of September. The report suggests that people with low purchasing power couldn’t manage to pay their bills on time which led to a drop in subscribers.

The carrier that was affected by the drop the most is Reliance Jio, which is also the carrier with the largest subscriber base in the state. However, the difference between Reliance Jio and drop in users of other telecom carriers is drastic. Reliance Jio lost around 10.98 lakh subscribers which is over 80 percent of the total subscribers lost.

The second provider most-affected by the loss in subscriber base is VI. The carrier lost around 1.48 lakh subscribers followed by Airtel which lost 1.24 lakh subscribers. In stark comparison, the state-owned BSNL managed to gain some subscribers in September.

Gujarat had breached the 7 crore subscriber mark in the month of June this year and it quickly retracted in the following months.

Other Indian states also reported similar outcomes in the September TRAI report. Urban zones were affected more compared to the rural areas.

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