Farmer’s protest: Reliance Jio loses over 20 lakh subscribers in Punjab and Haryana

Amid the backlash faced by Reliance Industries Ltd from the ongoing protests against farm laws, India’s largest telecom operator Reliance Jio’s wireless subscriber base in the states of Punjab and Haryana recorded a slide in December 2020.

The data for December 2020 released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority for India showcased that Reliance Jio lost subscribers in December, while Airtel and VI registered gains during the month, which has been seen as the potential result of the backlash Reliance faced in the ongoing farmers’ protests.

In Punjab, as of the end of December, Jio had 1.25 crore users, the lowest in the intervening 18 months, down from 1.40 crore as of November 2020. This was just the second time since its commercial launch that Jio lost subscribers on a net basis in the state, with December 2019 being the only other month when all major telecom firms, except state-owned BSNL, announced a decline in subscribers in the state.

Similarly, in Haryana, its subscriber base fell from 94.48 lakh in November to 89.07 lakh in December. In total, the company lost more than 20 lakh subscribers across the two states.

In Haryana, Jio saw a fall in wireless subscriber numbers to 89.07 lakh in December 2020 from 94.48 lakh in November 2020 — the first time the company witnessed a fall in numbers for Haryana since its commercial launch in September 2016.

Farmers from the two northern states have been at the forefront of the protests against the new agriculture laws, introduced by the Centre in September. The protestors, who have been agitating since November, believe that the new laws will aid big corporate houses like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, Jio’s parent company.