The 5G fixed wireless access market continued to expand in October, with Reliance Jio maintaining a clear lead over Bharti Airtel. Industry data reviewed by multiple brokerages shows that Jio held a seventy five percent share of the segment, while Airtel accounted for the remaining twenty five percent. Analysts expect the gap to shrink as Airtel steps up its efforts.
As per Axis Capital’s assessment of the sector regulator’s October data, Fixed Wireless Access made up eighteen percent of Airtel’s total broadband base and thirty three percent of Jio’s base. The analysis relied on circle level wireline subscriber trends as a proxy for fixed broadband. Brokerages noted that FWA now contributes around sixty to sixty five percent of monthly broadband additions nationwide, driven by low fibre coverage in many regions.
According to the firm, “Jio currently dominates the FWA segment with a 75 percent share, followed by Bharti Airtel at 25 percent. This is on the back of Jio leading in the rollout, leveraging its 5G SA network.” The report added that Airtel’s earlier lack of enthusiasm has shifted because falling consumer premises equipment costs have made FWA economics comparable to fibre.
Axis Capital said, “We now see Bharti Airtel’s net additions share at 35 to 40 percent of FWA industry adds. Overall, while Jio is likely to retain leadership in the segment given its early start and SA 5G network, Bharti’s FWA market share gap should incrementally narrow down.”
With limited monetisable 5G applications at present, FWA has become an important growth driver for telecom players, who are offering bundled OTT services to boost fixed broadband revenue. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India began publishing FWA data in January this year, and the subscriber base has grown from 5.7 million to 9.4 million, accounting for nearly seventeen percent of total broadband users.
Axis Capital also observed strong momentum in A and B circles for both operators as households look for faster broadband options. It noted that Jio has a stronger presence in B circles, while C circles continue to show lower traction because of affordability challenges.
In the home broadband category, which includes fibre to the home, unlicensed band radio and 5G fixed wireless access, Jio added 0.88 million subscribers in October supported by a rapid expansion of JioAirFiber across the country. Airtel added 0.31 million subscribers during the same period.
JioAirFiber is now available in more than five thousand nine hundred cities and towns. In the 5G FWA subsegment excluding UBR connections, Jio added 0.31 million subscribers and held a 74.6 percent share, while Airtel added 0.2 million subscribers and maintained a 25.4 percent share.
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