Vodafone Idea recorded its first monthly gain in mobile subscribers in more than a year during January, while rivals also recorded growth, official data showed.

The operator ended January with 286 million subscribers, up 1.7 million from end-2020, data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India showed.

Bharti Airtel signed up 5.9 million taking its total to 344.6 million and Reliance Jio added 1.9 million, boosting its tally to 410.7 million.

Vodafone Idea has lost subscribers in every quarter since Vodafone India and Idea Cellular merged in August 2018, from a combined base of more than 400 million.

In its fiscal Q3 (to end-December 2020), it noted improved subscriber retention fuelled by 4G, with additions of those users up year-on-year.

During the quarter, Vodafone Idea also narrowed its net loss, though revenue also declined.