Shares of Vodafone Idea rose 3% in Friday’s session even as the latest telecom data indicated continued subscriber losses for the company. The stock movement comes amid broader sector updates showing moderation in overall subscriber growth across India’s telecom industry.

According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, total telephone subscribers in January 2026 reached 1,314 million, with wireless users accounting for 1,266.34 million and wireline users at 47.66 million. Overall teledensity stood at 92.22%, with urban teledensity at 149.84% and rural teledensity at 59.83%.

Net mobile additions during the month stood at 6.7 million, lower than 7.24 million in December, indicating a slight slowdown in incremental growth. Bharti Airtel emerged as the strongest gainer with 4.4 million net additions, while Reliance Jio added 2.44 million subscribers. BSNL also returned to growth with 271,000 net additions.

Vodafone Idea, however, continued to lose subscribers, reporting a net decline of 411,000 users in January. Despite this, the pace of decline eased compared to December, suggesting some moderation in churn levels as the company focuses on retention and selective customer acquisition.

Market structure and broadband trends

In the wireless segment, Reliance Jio held a market share of 39.29%, followed by Bharti Airtel at 37.40% and Vodafone Idea at 15.86%. BSNL and MTNL together accounted for 7.46%, reflecting the dominance of private telecom operators.

Broadband subscribers increased marginally from 1,050.60 million in December 2025 to 1,052.72 million in January 2026. Reliance Jio led the broadband segment with a 49.16% share, followed by Bharti Airtel at 34.13% and Vodafone Idea at 12.25%.

On the wireline side, subscribers rose from 47.37 million to 47.66 million, with Reliance Jio leading at 31.33% market share, followed by Bharti Airtel at 23.43% and Vodafone Idea at 1.71%.

Stock performance

As of Friday, March 20, Vodafone Idea shares were trading at Rs 9.19, up 2.80% for the day.

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