During June 2016, the active wireless subscriber base for the industry declined for third consecutive month. The total wireless subscriber base, however, grew by 1.96 million during the month. For broadband, the subscriber base continued to witness robust y-o-y growth in June 2016, however, it remained stagnant vis-à-vis May 2016.
Mr. Harsh Jagnani, Vice President Corporate Ratings, ICRA Limited elaborates: “The total telecom subscriber base increased from 1058.03 million in May 2016 to 1059.85 million in June 2016 driven by steady addition of subscribers by the major telcos. The active subscribers, on the other hand, declined from 932.53 million to 915.15 million. Surprisingly, the broadband subscriber base remained stagnant at 159.80 million as compared to 159.76 million in May 2016, although it grew by 47% y-o-y.”
In June 2016, the wireless subscriber base increased to 1035.12 million from 1033.16 million subscribers as of May 2016. The top three telcos namely Bharti, Vodafone and Idea continued to strengthen their position, with a combined market share of 61.0% as of June 2016 as against 58.9% as of June 2015. Bharti, which continued to be the market leader, consolidated its position further with market share at 24.7% as of June 2016, followed by Vodafone at 19.3% and Idea at 17.0%.
Rural wireless subscriber base, which has been following a continuous upward trajectory since January 2016, declined to 446.33 million as of June 2016 from 448.90 million as of May 2016. On the other hand, the urban wireless subscriber base increased for the first time in last three months, rising to 588.78 million as of June 2016 as against 584.25 million in May 2016.
The broadband subscriber base in the country remained largely flat on m-o-m basis mainly due to the slight decline reported in wireless broadband subscribers which constitute around 90% of the total broadband subscriber base in the country. However, considering that wireless broadband subscribers constitute only around 14% of the total wireless subscribers in the country, there is considerable growth potential in this segment and ICRA expects this segment to show healthy growth.
