Jio's mobile user gains were significantly higher than Bharti Airtel's in July, which analysts said indicated that the telecom market leader had cornered most of Vodafone Idea's churning customers coupled with stronger gains in rural markets.
Latest data collated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed Jio added 3.9 million mobile users in July while Airtel reported 1.51 million additions, partly weighed down by sharp tariff hikes taken in its base prepaid rates.
Cash-strapped Vi lost 1.32 million customers, shrinking its mobile user base to 228.33 million as of end-July. Trai data showed Jio's mobile user base swelled to 442.48 million in July while that of Airtel rose to 375.24 million.
The data indicated that the combination of Jio and Airtel's user gains and Vi's losses on this score triggered a 0.23% rise in India's mobile user base to around 1.146 billion as of end-July.