Vodafone Idea’s 1.8 mn active users loss in May highest in 6 months, JioBharat launch to drive further losses: Analysts

Kolkata: Vodafone Idea (Vi) lost 1.8 million active mobile users in May 2023 – the highest in six months – and the situation could worsen for the cash-strapped telco, especially as Reliance Jio looks to attract more entry-level mobile broadband users with its recently launched budget internet-enabled feature phone, Jio Bharat, say analysts.

“Vi’s active subscriber loss (in May) was the highest in six months as it lost subscribers in 17/22 circles, and such losses may accelerate due to Jio’s recent Jio Bharat launch, which will turn the market into an effective duopoly sooner than expected,” Jefferies said in a note, analysing latest customer data put out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).