AHMEDABAD: Thanks to restrictions imposed by the state government to shut trade and commercial establishments, telecom companies could not service new connection requests, causing net additions in wireless mobile subscriptions in Gujarat to decline. The state lost as many as 26,708 mobile subscribers in May , according to the latest Telecom Subscription Report released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Telecom sector sources attribute the decline in uptakes to poor serviceability. "Most part of May saw Gujarat under a partial lockdown. During the second wave, most people were busy battling medical emergencies and, unless extremely necessary, people hardly invested in a new mobile connection. Serviceability was another constraint due to shops being closed. Therefore, fresh uptakes declined," said a source.
While Vodafone Idea (Vi) saw a a major decline of 1.5 lakh subscribers from 2.52 crore subscribers in April 2021 to 2.50 crore subscribers in May 2021. Similarly, Bharti Airtel too lost ground this time by losing some 1.58 lakh subscribers, with wireless subscriber numbers going down from 1.21 crore to 1.20 crore during the same period.
Reliance Jio was the only telecom player to add fresh connections, growing from 2.65 crore in April to 2.67 crore in May - an addition of 2.85 lakh.
Industry players also said that several consumers who had bought multiple connections, either ported their numbers or discontinued their spare connections which is also a reason for decline.
