BENGALURU: ACT (Atria Convergence Technologies) continues to lead the wired broadband growth in calendar year 2015 with 1.6 lakh subscriber additions from 31 January, 2015 until 31 August, 2015. The latest numbers disclosed by The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as on 31 August, 2015 reveal that the total number of wired broadband subscribers in India stood at 160 lakhs. Hence 6.8 lakh subscribers were added between 31 December, 2014 and 31 August, 2015, and 1.6 lakh subscribers were added in August 2015.
Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore
(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages perforce have been mentioned up to the two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number
(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693.
While the pecking order remains the same with the top three – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharati Airtel (Airtel) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) also providing voice (telephone) services and many of their wired internet customers use both services – voice and data. The big three are followed by ACT and You Broadband India.
ACT still continues to lead the growth in wired broadband subscriptions with a net addition of 20,000 subscribers in August 2015, taking its tally to 1.6 lakh subscribers (23.53 per cent of the all India additions) added since 31 December, 2014. ACT’s contribution to the all India additions to subscriber numbers in August was therefore 12.5 per cent. Hence ACT’s market share in the wired internet space in India improved by eight basis points to 4.81 per cent in August 2015 as compared to 4.73 in July-2015
However, telecom major Bharti Airtel is swiftly closing the gap. The behemoth added 40,000 wired internet subscribers or 25 per cent of the all India additions in August 2015, taking its tally to 1.3 lakh subscribers (19.12 per cent of the all India additions) added between 31 December, 2014 and 31 August, 2015. Airtel’s market share improved 16 basis points to 9.63 per cent in August 2015 as compared to 9.47 per cent in July 2015.
You Broadband added 10,000 or 6.25 per cent of the all India wired broadband subscribers added in August 2015, taking its tally to 4.8 lakh subscribers until 31 August, 2015, and a net addition of 60,000 subscribers (8.82 per cent of the all India additions) since 31 December, 2014. You Broadband’s market share has improved by three basis points to three per cent in August 2015 as compared to the 2.97 per cent in July 2015.
The public sector BSNL and MTNL subscription numbers are same as the numbers reported for July 2015, and hence there appears to be no net growth in wired broadband subscribers on their part. However, since the overall market size is increasing, their market share has declined even further. BSNL had a market share of 62 per cent, down by 63 basis points as compared to July 2015, while MTNL lost seven basis points to reach a market share of 7.06 per cent as compared to 7.13 per cent in July 2015. As on 31 December, 2014, BSNL had a market share of 65.14 per cent, while MTNL had a market share of 7.38 per cent.
Please refer to the figure below:
