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Published 16:20 IST, May 23rd 2019

Why The Recent Dip In Mobile Phone Subscribers Is Potentially Welcome

The recent drop in the number of mobile subscribers is reportedly not worrisome. Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, despite losing subscribers need not be overly concerned.

Reported by: Rahul R
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If you thought that the recent drop in the number of mobile subscribers represented something, then you were right. It did represent the fact that a huge number of mobile SIM-cards not in use were eliminated, whilst consolidating other connections, as per a new report.  

This report, by the Press Trust of India (via Economic Times), quotes Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) which stated that even connections that were not being used as they should be were eliminated by mobile telecom operators.  

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Firstly, the number of mobile subscribers overall reduced to 1161.8 million during the period ending 31 March, as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data. This also represented a 21.87 million user cut when compared to the period ending February 2019. The telcos having lost big, during this period where Airtel and Vodafone Idea whose subscriber base reduced by as much as 12.1 million and 14.5 million during March this year; this was in streak contrast to Reliance Jio which managed to add a user base of 9.4 million in this time.  

Now, as per PTI, quoted by The Economic Times, that also quotes COAI’s Rajan Mathews, the trend of falling mobile subscribers need not be overly analysed. Mathews also attributed this trend to factors such as making minimum recharge plans mandatory by multiple telcos offering prepaid services; this could very well have led to subscribers deciding to keep only one unified number for their usage rather than maintain more than one prepaid mobile number. Now, such numbers have been eliminated by telcos leading to a decrease in the overall mobile subscribers base.  

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Hence if you are a telecom analyst having expressed concerns over the slight decline in recent mobile subscribers, then you could feel safe that unsolicited numbers are now eliminated. Only the genuine subscribers need the most genuine of mobile services. Don’t you think so? 

Also Read: Telecom Operators Accounting For Highest Spam Calls, States Truecaller

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16:07 IST, May 23rd 2019