Telecom operators Airtel, Vodafone shares in focus after March subscriber data

India’s top telecom stocks, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, were set to be in the spotlight on Thursday after the country’s telecom regulator released March subscriber data showing a continued expansion in user base for market leaders Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm, while Vodafone Idea held steady.

According to data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reliance Jio remained the top wireless broadband provider with 465.10 million subscribers as of March-end. Bharti Airtel followed with 280.76 million users. Together, the two operators accounted for nearly 79% of India’s total wireless broadband market.

Vodafone Idea retained its third position with a flat subscriber count of 126.40 million. State-owned BSNL trailed with 30.23 million wireless broadband users, continuing to struggle due to delays in its 4G rollout and mounting competitive pressure.

Mobile user growth driven by rural uptake

India’s total wireless subscriber base — which includes mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA) users — rose to 1,163.76 million in March from 1,160.33 million in February, a 0.28% increase. Core mobile subscriptions rose by 2.94 million to reach 1,156.99 million. Growth was led by rural regions, which saw a 0.49% increase in subscriptions, outpacing the 0.06% growth in urban areas.

Although TRAI did not provide operator-level data for mobile users specifically, recent trends indicate that Jio and Airtel were the key contributors to the net additions. Vodafone Idea's stagnation comes amid ongoing financial constraints, while BSNL continues to lag in network rollout.

India’s 5G FWA subscriber base rose from 6.27 million in February to 6.77 million in March. Urban users made up 4.26 million of the total, while rural areas contributed 2.51 million. Both Jio and Airtel have been aggressively expanding their 5G FWA footprint, though the TRAI data does not break out operator-level details for this segment.

User churn remained active, with 13.54 million mobile number portability (MNP) requests filed in March. Total MNP requests since inception reached 1,118.94 million, highlighting ongoing competition and customer movement across networks.

Bharti Airtel shares ended 0.3% lower at Rs 1895.95 on Wednesday, while Vodafone Idea rose 0.7% to Rs 6.93. Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd., the parent company of Jio, fell 1% to Rs 1406.00 on the BSE.

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