Airtel edges past Jio in July mobile subscriber additions

Bharti Airtel topped the telecom industry in mobile subscriber additions in July, adding 2.69 million users during the month, narrowly ahead of market leader Reliance Jio’s 2.45 million, according to monthly subscription data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Friday.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) added 240,114 subscribers, while state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) gained 168,874.

The industry’s overall wireless subscriber base rose to 1.288 billion at the end of July from 1.282 billion a month earlier. Jio continued to lead in total mobile subscribers, with its base rising to 506.03 million, followed by Airtel at 489.48 million and Vi at 199.06 million.