India’s Bruised Telecom Operators Are Shedding Flab

India’s top two telecom operators deactivated connections of more than eight crore low-paying subscribers as they focus on better-paying customers and lowering costs.

Vodafone Idea Ltd. introduced a minimum average revenue per user and deactivated 3.5 crore users who bought recharge plans of less than Rs 35 a month in the December-ended quarter, according to its filing. Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel Ltd. too had dumped 4.8 crores, such users.

Focus on improving average revenue per user comes as older operators battle a tariff war triggered by Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.’s rock-bottom pricing. The Mukesh Ambani-led operator, however, continued to expand market share by adding new customers and is poised to dislodge Bharti Airtel from the No. 2 spot.―Bloomberg Quint