TRAI report: Gujarat witnesses loss of 3.9L telecom subscribers in March

According to the latest Telecom Subscriptions Report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the state lost 3.9 lakh subscribers in March, reducing its telecom subscriber number to 6.59 crore.

This comes as a surprise at a time when the state’s major players are witnessing a gradual increase in subscriber numbers. 

During the month, market leaders Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel gained 1.58 lakh and 52,627 new subscribers in the state.

An evident reason for the decline in the subscriber numbers is Vi losing 1.01 lakh subscribers and BSNL losing 4.99 lakh subscribers during the month. 

India saw a net addition of 8.48 lakh subscribers in March. Industry sources attribute the drop to the deactivation of inactive numbers to prevent fraud.

They added that there is a general tendency of the floating population to go back to their native places around Jan and Feb, which results in a fluctuation in numbers to a certain extent.

According to the TRAI consumer handbook, a sim card is deemed deactivated if not used for over 90 days. 

Non-usage here means zero incoming or outgoing calls/messages, no data sessions, no use of value-added services and related payments.

A sharp increase in the number of cases of sim fraud and phishing reported has led the department of telecom to tighten rules on verification of customers seeking new mobile numbers.

This has led to a slowing uptake in new connections, industry players say.

To prevent digital scams, the govt has decided to discontinue issuing bulk SIM card connections.

Instead, the DoT has introduced business connections, under which organizations need to appoint an authorized signatory to provide the necessary documents to the telecom operator if they want to buy SIM cards in bulk for employees.

Moreover, now only telecom companies are authorized to issue bulk connections, not independent point of sale retailers.

The number of porting requests in Gujarat has also grown, primarily driven by the introduction of 5G technology, which has unbalanced the domestic market.