As per an internal report of the Telecom Commission, state-owned telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have witnessed a combined subscriber churn of about 10 million between May 2013 and May 2014. In contrast, private telecom operators have added over 48 million new subscribers during the same period. As a result, the net growth in total phone connections (landline and mobile) in the telecom industry during this period was 38.3 million.
The private telecom operators accounted for nearly 88 per cent of total phone connections (landline and mobile) sold as of May 2014, while the share of both BSNL and MTNL reduced from 14.05 per cent in May 2013 to 12.44 per cent in May 2014.
Though BSNL and MTNL still hold majority share in the landline segment, with a combined market share of 77.04 per cent, BSNL lost nearly 2 million landline customers during the period while MTNL saw no change in its wireline connections. The report further states that owing to lack of upgradation in its landline network, BSNL lost about 140,000 wireline customers every month during the period of consideration. Consequently, its landline customer base presently stands at 18.2 million, a 40 per cent reduction over the past decade.
The share of mobile connections accounted for 97 per cent of total phone connections. As per the report, the spurt in mobile connections growth was propelled by private telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications. BSNL and MTNL, on the other hand, have collectively lost nearly 8 mobile million connections between May 2013 and May 2014.
The report adds that the surge in mobile connections by private operators increased national teledensity from 73.33 per in May 2013 to 75.51 per cent in May 2014. Rural teledensity also improved to 44.45 per cent from 41.7 per cent, reflecting increasing share of new rural connections.
