Latest news with #MobileNumberPortability
The Hindu
08-08-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
BSNL launches ‘Freedom Unlimited' plan
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched a special initiative, 'Freedom Plan / Freedom Unlimited' with the mission to 'Try and Test Our Indigenous and Secure 4G Networks.' A release here said new SIM cards and MNP (Mobile Number Portability) services would be offered at a nominal price of ₹1 with validity and data benefits as per the plan selected by the customer as a part of the initiative. The offer is valid till August 31 and open to all new and port-in customers. The limited-period offer aims to give the public a first-hand experience of BSNL's indigenous 4G network, developed with a focus on security, reliability, and self-reliance. The offer may be availed by visiting BSNL Customer Service Centres (CSCs) and authorised BSNL retailer shops in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
India.com
08-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Amid India-Pakistan Tensions, Government Issues National Security Warning To Airtel, Jio; THIS Service Halted Immediately: Reports
India- Pakistan Tensions: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has raised red flags over national security after telecom giants Airtel and Reliance Jio announced plans to offer home delivery of SIM cards. The government has issued an important reminder regarding KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance to both country's biggest telecom companies. According to a report in The Economic Times, the DoT objected to the idea of customers completing self-KYC authentication, citing national security concerns. In a letter dated April 16, Reliance Jio informed DoT Secretary Neeraj Mittal that it also planned to launch quick home delivery of SIM cards starting April 25, similar to the Airtel-Blinkit initiative. However, Reliance Jio has put its plans on hold after DoT blocked a similar initiative by Bharti Enterprises' Airtel. The telecom giant had announced a partnership with Blinkit last month to deliver SIM cards to buyers within 10 minutes at a nominal fee of Rs 49. The service was launched in 16 cities across the country on April 16th. At the same time, the department stressed that Aadhaar-based KYC must be completed before a SIM card is delivered to a customer's home. This rule is meant to ensure proper identity verification, prevent misuse, and strengthen national security. The initiative was put on hold on April 30 after the telecom department raised concerns about customers completing self-KYC after receiving the SIM. Importantly, this advisory was issued to all telecom operators, not just Airtel and Jio. Consumers can also trigger Mobile Number Portability (MNP) if they wish to switch from another network provider to Airtel for both prepaid and postpaid customers.
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Business Standard
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Reliance Jio tops March subscriber growth with 2.17 million additions
Reliance Jio has gained the most number of subscribers in March with 2.17 million new wireless users or 74 per cent of all subscriber additions in the industry, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) showed on Wednesday. The market leader has continued to consolidate its position in 2025, gaining 1.76 million and 0.68 million users in February, and January respectively. On the other hand, the pace of user addition for Airtel continued to slow for the second-month. In March, Bharti Airtel added 1.25 million users, down from 1.59 million and 1.65 million new users in the two preceding months. With 0.54 million users leaving its service in March, Vodafone Idea (Vi) saw customer attrition spike. It had lost just 20,720 subscribers in February, after shedding 1.33 million in January. Meanwhile, state-owned telecom operator BSNL managed to stage a turnaround in March. It gained 49,177 users in March, after losing 0.56 million users and 0.15 million users in the preceding two months. With BSNL keeping tariffs unchanged, a large number of subscribers using entry-level plans shifted to the telco in July, last year, but the additions had reversed in the last few months of 2024. The telco is currently aiming to roll out its home-grown 4G network nationwide with 1 lakh towers by June. Jio and Airtel mobile wireless market share continued to inch up in March, rising to 40.6 per cent, and 33.69 per cent in March. The rise was primarily at the expense of BSNL, whose share fell to 7.87 per cent. Vi had a 17.75 per cent share. The overall number of mobile phone connections in India increased by 2.94 million or 0.25 per cent in March. There were 6.76 million 5G FWA subscribers at March-end in India, up by 7.94 per cent from the 6.27 million users in the preceding month. Of this, 82.3 per cent or 5.57 million subscribers were using Reliance Jio, with the rest being Airtel users. FWA delivers high-speed internet using wireless signals instead of traditional wired infrastructure like fibre or cable. A dedicated customer premises equipment (CPE), such as a fixed outdoor antenna or an indoor router, picks up signals from nearby mobile towers and converts them into Wi-Fi or Ethernet. Trai data also revealed 13.54 million subscribers had submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the latest month, up from 12.06 million in February. Meanwhile, the number of wireline subscribers increased by 0.13 million in the country, rising 0.37 per cent to 37.04 millon.
Time of India
25-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Vodafone Idea's subscriber decline slows in February: TRAI data
NEW DELHI: India's third-largest telecom operator, Vodafone Idea (Vi,) arrested subscriber decline in February, even as its larger rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel continued to gain ground. Vi lost 20,720 subscribers, while Jio gained 1.76 million subscribers, and second-ranked Airtel added 1.59 million subscribers in February, according to the latest industry data collated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI ). State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), however, lost 0.56 million subscribers. Jio ended the month with 467.58 million subscribers, followed by Airtel (388.55 million), Vi (205.90 million), and BSNL (91.01 million), TRAI data showed. Driven by the gains of Jio and Airtel, India's overall wireless subscriber base grew by 2.76 million to 1.154 billion in February. In terms of active subscribers, every telco except Airtel saw significant declines. Active, or visitor location register (VLR) data, put out by TRAI each month, indicates the number of mobile users regularly using a mobile network. In February, the active wireless user base of Jio stood at 445.97 million, followed by Airtel at 388.18 million, and Vi at 175.39 million. BSNL's active user base stood at 58.38 million. At the end of February, Jio continued to be the wireless subscriber market leader with a 40.52% share, followed by Airtel (33.67%), and Vi (17.84%), while BSNL's share stood at 7.89% in the month. In the month of February, 12.06 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). With this, the cumulative MNP requests increased from 1.09 billion at the end of January to 1.10 billion at the end of February, since the implementation of MNP, as per the sector regulator's data. Total wireless (5G FWA) subscribers increased from 5.72 million at the end of January to 6.27 million at the end of February, with subscriptions in urban and rural areas of 6.06 million and 0.21 million, respectively, according to TRAI. TRAI started classifying 5G FWA as a separate category under wireless from January 2025, unlike previously, when home connections were reported under the wireline category. 5G FWA has emerged as the only monetisable opportunity so far for telecom operators who spent top dollars in buying 5G airwaves. Jio led the 5G FWA segment with a subscriber base of 5.23 million, while Airtel trailed behind with 1.03 million 5G FWA users, according to the data.
