NEW DELHI : The telecom sector's mobile subscriber net additions moderated to about 2.2 million (22 lakh) in April this year, with analysts blaming the 'muted' numbers on the second wave of COVID and lockdowns.
After a strong fourth quarter of 2020-21, where the industry added 27.2 million subscribers, April was a "weak month" with only 2.2 million net additions, UBS said in its report on Tuesday. "We attribute this to the beginning of the second wave of COVID," a UBS note said.
As per data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Bharti Airtel added only 0.5 million (5 lakh) subscribers in April, against 4.8 million net additions by larger rival Reliance Jio.