In May, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) published that number of active subscribers had dropped significantly in April as compared to the previous year. According to the data, in the month of April alone nearly 7.5 million subscribers disconnected from the networks. The available data shows that Airtel and Vodafone Idea made up 90% of lost subscriptions. Reliance Jio has also seen a large drop in numbers. However, it is highly unlikely that people would give up telecom services entirely and so must have just closed extra connections and SIMs. TRAI cited the rise in tariffs and overall inflation as the reason for people giving up additional connections.
Nevertheless, industry experts believed that inflation might not be the actual cause. In fact, many of the subscribers might have not voluntarily given up their connections. If reports are to be believed, the companies have started getting rid of non-paying subscribers to prepare for the upcoming 5G revolution. Cutting connections that are just dead-weight will help companies to free up their networks and other critical resources. This will help the telecom giants to be better prepared in case they are able to win the 5G auctions scheduled for next month.
Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently said that companies will participate in the auction enthusiastically. The telecom department will be hosting an auction-related pre-bid conference tomorrow, to provide information regarding the auction and resolve any queries. The auction will invite bids for Rs4.3 lakh crore worth of airwaves capable of offering fifth fifth-generation or 5G telecom services, including ultra-high-speed internet.
