The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has seen a significant surge in customer migration, with 5.5 million users porting their numbers to its network following the June 2024 tariff hikes by private telecom operators.
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) data reveals a steady increase in BSNL’s port-ins from July to October 2024. The numbers tell an interesting story: 1.5 million users switched to BSNL in July, peaking at 2.1 million in August, before gradually declining to 1.1 million in September and 0.7 million in October.
This marks a dramatic shift from June 2024, when BSNL recorded only 63,709 port-ins. The operator also saw a decrease in customers leaving its network. While 0.4 million users ported out in June, this number dropped to 0.31 million in July, 0.26 million in August, and 0.28 million in September, though it rose slightly to 0.51 million in October.
From July to October 2024, nearly 5.5 million users switched to BSNL.
With strong growth in SIM sales and mobile number portability, BSNL continues to be the preferred choice for millions of users.#BSNLIndia #CustomerFirst #PortInToBSNL #SwitchToBSNLhttps://t.co/c1uj6LbgFY
— BSNL India (@BSNLCorporate) December 4, 2024
BSNL’s growth wasn’t limited to port-ins alone. New SIM card sales skyrocketed from 790,000 in June to 4.9 million in July, reaching 5 million in August before decreasing to 2.8 million in September and 1.9 million in October.
Meanwhile, private operators faced significant subscriber losses. According to TRAI data, the telecom industry lost 10 million users in September 2024 alone, with Jio losing 7.9 million, Airtel 1.4 million, and Vodafone Idea 1.5 million subscribers.
BSNL’s Chairman and MD Robert Ravi has confirmed that the company has no immediate plans to increase its tariffs.
