Broadband
Broadband subs growth slows further, wireline broadband loses subs
BENGALURU: The growth of broadband subscribers has been slowing over the past few months. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India data for the month of May 2017 (as on 31 May 2017) indicates that wireless internet subscribers increased by just 0.22 percent in May-17 to 272.85 million from 265.43 million in April 2017. Top five broadband internet service providers constituted 88.23 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of May-17. These service providers were Reliance JioInfocom Ltd (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (53.30 million), Vodafone (40.43 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and BSNL (21.59 million).
As on 31 May, 2017, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd or Jio (117.34 million), Bharti Airtel (51.21 million), Vodafone (40.42 million), Idea Cellular (24.63 million) and Reliance Communications (14.46 million). Month-on-Month (MoM) growth in May-17 as compared to April-17 was:
Please refer to the figures below:
Overall growth of mobile broadband subscribers in May-17 with respect to April-17 was: 3.12 percent; Jiogrew by 4.2 percent; Airtel grew by 2.07 percent; Vodafone by 1.69 percent; Idea Cellular by 2.24 percent and Reliance Communications grew by 3.29 percent. The upside of the growth numbers was that both Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications witnessed positive subscriber growth in May-17 as opposed to de-growth in the previous month (April-17) as compared to March-17.
In the meantime, wired broadband internet subscribers declined 0.11 percent in May-17 to 18.23 million from 18.25 million in April-17. As on 31 May, 2017, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL (9.80 million), Bharti Airtel (2.09 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.20 million), MTNL (0.99 million) and You Broadband (0.64 million). Among the top 5 wired broadband internet service providers the government run providers – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited (MTNL) lost subscribers, Airtel saw no change, while the minnows ACT and You Broadband both gained subscribers in May17 as compared to April 17
In CY-17 until May-17, ACT has added the largest number of wired internet subscribers at 80,000, followed by Airtel with 50,000 additions. You BB added 40,000 subscribers, while BSNL lost 150,000 and MTNL lost 50,000 subscribers during the same period.
Notes: (1) The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used at some places in this paper/charts to denote numerical values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.
(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.51 million (5.1 lakh) subscribers for You BB for Dec-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.
(3) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.
Broadband
ACT Fibernet elevates Aditya Singh to chief customer experience officer
Former senior vp to drive service, retention and delivery revamp
BENGALURU: ACT Fibernet has elevated Aditya Singh to chief customer experience officer, effective 1 January, 2026, as the broadband provider seeks to tighten its grip on service quality in an increasingly competitive market.
Singh, who previously served as senior vice-president – customer experience and loyalty at group level, will now join the executive committee and lead the company’s end-to-end customer transformation agenda.
The move gives him oversight of customer service, customer retention and service delivery, alongside a broader mandate to strengthen network resilience and field operations. The company said the reshuffle underlines its intent to deliver a “consistent, seamless and superior” experience to its 2.3m subscribers across more than 30 cities.
Headquartered in Bengaluru, ACT Fibernet, the consumer-facing brand of Atria Convergence Technologies Limited, is one of India’s largest wired internet service providers. It has built its pitch on high-speed connectivity and responsive customer support, at a time when fibre roll-outs and price wars are redrawing the broadband map.
In a statement, Singh said he was “deeply honoured” to take on the expanded brief and join the executive committee as the company sharpens its focus on simplifying customer touchpoints and turning subscribers into brand advocates.
The elevation signals a clear priority: in a crowded fibre market, customer experience is fast becoming the decisive battleground.
