Hindi
Cinépolis crosses 200-screen landmark in India with Bengaluru multiplex launch
MUMBAI: Mexican multiplex chain Cinépolis has crossed the 200-screen mark in India with the launch of its third property in Bengaluru.
With an aim to have 400 operating screens across India by 2017, Cinépolis is looking at launching 20 more screens in Bengaluru over the next two years.
The new cineplex in Bengaluru’s ETA Namma Mall boasts of complete digital projection and is equipped with three RealD 3D screens, digital sound and the largest legroom. Cinépolis has an exclusive tie-up for the deployment of the 3D technology from Real-D systems in India.
Cinépolis India managing director Javier Sotomayor said, “We are committed to expanding in Bengaluru, one of the fastest growing metros of the country. Apart from the operational properties, we have more than 20 screens planned to go live in the city over the next two years. We are looking for newer malls to expand our footprint and offer the most awe-inspiring cinematic experience to movie-goers in Bengaluru.”
“We identified ETA Namma Mall as the ideal location for our third property in the Garden City. The mall attracts the ideal blend of cosmopolitan customers who look forward to a more-than-average movie-watching experience, which we are in a perfect position to offer. Cinépolis is the fastest growing cinema brand in the country and will continue to foray into existing and newer territories to meet our plan of operating 400 screens in India by 2017,” he added.
With the acquisition of Fun Cinemas from Essel Group, Cinépolis’ screen count in India rose to 193, across 41 multiplexes and 31 cities. After the launch in Bengaluru’s ETA Namma Mall the total number of screens has hit 201.
Cinépolis India business head – strategy Devang Sampat said, “At Cinépolis, our constant endeavour is to deliver unmatched levels of customer service. The technology and experience that patrons will enjoy at the newly-unveiled cineplex will be in perfect synchrony with our brand proposition. We look forward to the continued patronage of Bengaluru residents for this theatre and for the many more than are underway in this highly lucrative geography.”
The multiplex operator currently has a presence in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Surat, Jaipur, Bhopal, Patna, Thane, Vijaywada, Vadodara, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bhatinda, Ambala, Panipat, Ghaziabad, Mangalore, Hubli, Kota, Gwalior, Coimbatore, Khanna, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Ghaziabad and Ranchi.
Hindi
India’s telecom subscribers cross 1.32 billion in February 2026
Broadband base swells past 1.06 billion as Jio and Airtel tighten grip on the market.
MUMBAI: India’s telecom sector is ringing in steady growth once again adding millions of new connections every month while the race for broadband supremacy continues to heat up like a fiercely contested cricket match. According to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on 1 April 2026, the total telephone subscriber base in the country reached 1,321.31 million at the end of February 2026. This marked a net addition of 7.31 million subscribers during the month, translating into a monthly growth rate of 0.56 per cent.
Wireless subscribers (including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) stood at 1,273.31 million, registering a net addition of 6.97 million and a growth rate of 0.55 per cent. Within this, urban wireless connections grew to 730.75 million (growth 0.70 per cent), while rural wireless subscribers reached 542.56 million (growth 0.35 per cent).
Wireline subscribers, though much smaller in scale, showed slightly faster growth. The total wireline base increased to 47.99 million, with a net addition of 0.34 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.70 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate wireline connections with a share of 89.41 per cent.
Overall tele-density in India improved to 92.66 per cent. Urban tele-density stood at 150.68 per cent, while rural tele-density edged up to 60.02 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed a significant milestone, reaching 1,059.05 million at the end of February 2026. This reflected a healthy net addition of 6.33 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent from January’s figure of 1,052.72 million.
Segment-wise, mobile wireless access continued to drive the majority of growth with 996.52 million subscribers. Fixed Wireless Access (including 5G FWA) added 16.51 million, while wired broadband stood at 46.02 million.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. maintained its commanding lead with 519.64 million broadband subscribers. Bharti Airtel Ltd. followed with 364.14 million, Vodafone Idea Ltd. with 129.36 million, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. with 28.70 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. with 2.38 million.
Together, these top five players command a massive 98.60 per cent share of the total broadband market.
In the wireless (mobile) segment, private operators continued to dominate with 92.59 per cent market share, leaving public sector undertakings (BSNL and MTNL) with just 7.41 per cent.
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) date, representing an impressive 93.66 per cent activity rate. Bharti Airtel led in this metric with 99.42 per cent of its subscribers active.
Meanwhile, 14.47 million subscribers submitted requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in February, indicating healthy competition and customer churn across zones.
While urban areas still lead in absolute numbers, rural connectivity is slowly catching up. Rural wireless tele-density stood at 59.46 per cent, compared with the much higher urban figure of 142.32 per cent.
Fixed Wireless Access using 5G technology also showed promising traction, growing to 11.93 million subscribers. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are the primary players driving this segment.
The data paints a picture of a maturing yet still rapidly expanding telecom ecosystem. With total telephone subscribers now well past the 1.32 billion mark and broadband users comfortably above 1.06 billion, India continues to solidify its position as one of the world’s largest and most dynamic digital markets.
From bustling city streets to remote villages, more Indians are staying connected than ever before proving that when it comes to telecom, the country’s appetite for growth shows no signs of hanging up anytime soon.
