Further, if we talk about the individual companies, as per the report, apart from Bharti Airtel no other telecom operator saw a growth in its subscribers’ base. Airtel continues to hold the top position, with 29.61% market share. It has added another 0.60 million (6,02,771) subscribers during July, making its total subscriber base to 281.25 million. Airtel is followed by Vodafone India, which claims to have 210.5 million subscribers. However, Vodafone has lost 1,389,854 subscribers in July only. Similarly, Idea Cellular which stood at third with 193.95 million subscribers also lost 2,320,480 customers during last month. The newest entrant Reliance Jio had crossed 125 million subscribers base earlier in July. The report also provides subscriber numbers across individual circles. It shows that UP (East) circle remained at the top with total 84.16 million subscribers and has added 0.47 million new subscribers in July. Maharashtra remained at second position with a total of 78.78 million mobile subscribers which has added the most 0.51 million subscribers to its base. Mr. Rajan Mathews, Director General, COAI said, “The increase of subscribers in Maharashtra, UP East, and Karnataka showed that the sector was in a strong position as far as subscriber numbers go, and showed that the increasing investment in infrastructure in those states was showing fruition.” He further raises concern over the extreme financial stress that is being experienced by the telecom industry in India. “The industry is undergoing a phase of the hyper competition and at the moment it is reeling under a debt of over Rs. 4.5 lakh crores. The industry further needs an additional investment of over Rs. 2.5 lakh crore for infrastructure rollout and expansion are required especially in the far-flung areas of the country,” he added.
