Internet user base rises 3.4% to 743 mn at Mar-end; Jio commands over 52% market: Trai data

The number of Internet subscribers in India increased to over 743 million by the end of March 2020, clocking a sequential quarterly growth rate of 3.4 per cent, showed Trai data on the quarterly output of the market.

Reliance Jio led the chart to capture 52.3% of total market share, followed by Bharti Airtel (23.6% share) in the quarter ended March 2020. Vodafone Idea held the third position as its internet subscriber base market share was at 18.7%, for the period in reference.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) stated in its report, "Total number of internet subscribers increased from 718.74 million at the end of December 2019 to 743.19 million at the end of March 2020, registering a quarterly growth rate of 3.40 per cent."

The number of wireless internet subscribers stood at 720.7 million (97% share of overall pie) and wired internet subscribers were 22.4 million.

The internet subscriber base included 687.4 million broadband users and 55.7 million narrowband subscribers — a staggering 92.5 percent of total internet subscribers used broadband for internet access.

According to Trai report, 'Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators, January-March, 2020', the broadband internet subscriber base increased by 3.85% from 661.94 million at the end of December 2019 to 687.44 million at the end of March 2020.

Broadband connectivity is characterised as Internet access with a minimum bandwidth of 512 kilobits per second or more, whereas narrowband refers to lower-speed net access.

At the end of March 2020, wireless internet subscribers rose to 720.7 million, a quarter-on - quarter growth rate of 3.51 percent.

The Trai report added that out of total internet subscribers, 96.90% subscribers are using mobile devices for access of internet service. Wired internet subscribers are only 3.02% in total internet subscribers at the end of March 20.

Of the total 22.42 million wired internet subscribers, the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) held a market share of 50.3 per cent with 11.27 million subscribers, led by Bharti Airtel with 2.47 million subscribers.

Reliance Jio held a market share of 53.76 per cent in the wireless Internet business, followed by Bharti Airtel (24 per cent) in the quarter ended March 20, it stated.

It added that the top five service areas in terms of internet subscriptions (wired and wireless) were Maharashtra (63.01 million), Andhra Pradesh including Telangana (58.65 million), UP (East) (54.60 million), Tamil Nadu including Chennai (51.64 million) and Madhya Pradesh including Chhattisgarh (48.72 million).

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.