Why Bharti Airtel Shares Are Rising Today?

Bharti Airtel saw its stock rise on Tuesday after the country’s second-largest telecom operator recorded a significant increase in 4G/5G users, adding 3.98 million in November, the highest in 27 months, as per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). This surge brings Airtel’s total wireless broadband subscribers, predominantly 4G, to 255.07 million, up from 251.1 million in October.

What Happened? This growth marks a notable rebound from October when Airtel added only 520,000 4G/5G users, its lowest in 18 months. The increase is attributed to the overall rise in the industry’s subscriber base and the transition of users from 2G to 4G/5G, indicating a shift from feature phones to smartphones.

Despite this growth in 4G/5G users, Airtel experienced a loss in active subscribers for the second consecutive month, with a reduction of 432,941 in November, following a 1.2 million decrease in October. However, Airtel’s total subscriber count, including 2G services, rose by 1.7 million, reaching 379.8 million by the end of November.

See also: Reliance Jio Wants The Government To Phase Out 2G, 3G Networks: Here’s Why

The wider picture: Market leader Jio continued to dominate subscriber additions, gaining 3.45 million in November, increasing its total to 455.81 million. Vodafone Idea also saw an uptick in 4G subscribers, adding 0.96 million, despite losing over 1 million users overall, bringing its total to 224.4 million.

The telecom sector overall witnessed a rise of nearly 3.2 million subscribers, reaching 1.154 billion, the highest increase in 2.5 years. The three major operators collectively added 8.4 million 4G subscribers, with a total of 837.52 million 4G users in the country by November’s end.

Price Action: Bharti Airtel Ltd. shares were trading 0.95% higher at ₹1,173.20 on Tuesday morning.

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