Airtel Lost Up To 3 Million Customers On J&K Network Shutdown

The network shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir impacted the subscriber base of telecom companies in the quarter ended September, owing to which Bharti Airtel lost up to 3 million customers, while Vodafone Idea too lost customers, according to the latest report by brokerage ICICI Securities. Replying to questions over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that Internet services would resume in the newly reorganized union territory (UT) on the recommendations of the local administration. “Bharti Airtel lost about 2.5-3 million customers due to network shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir, which would return on reported base post resumption of services there. On a like to like basis, the net sub addition was zero,” the ICICI Securities report said. On Vodafone Idea, the report said that it continued to lose subscribers with a net loss of 8.9 million customers during the quarter and resultant overall subscriber base at 32.0 crores.