Broadband
ACT to focus on broadband, cable ops acquisition
BENGALURU: Atria Convergent Technologies (ACT), one of the largest broadband players in India after the public sector BSNL, MTNL and the private sector Airtel will focus primarily on broadband, reveal company sources. ACT withdrew its application for permanent registration as an MSO in September 2014 according to the MIB ‘List as on 05.01.2015 of MSOs whose Registration by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to operate in digital addressable system (DAS) has been cancelled or cases closed’.
“Our focus for our mother brand ACT will be broadband. We have MSO licenses in the states that we operate in under individual names. We will expand our cable footprint by acquiring only the operators that have permanent licenses,” revealed ACT CEO Bala Maladi to indiantelevision.com.
MSOs under the ACT umbrella operate in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (AP) through Kable First India in Bangalore, Kable First Davangere in Davangere, Mandapeta Digital Entertainment (Mandapeta, AP), Venkateshwara Digital Home Entertainment (Kutukuluru and Nakapalli in AP) and ACT Digital Home Entertainment (AP and Telangana), Raja Rajeshwari Entertainment (Notified areas of Nellore, AP), Sree Digital Home Entertainment (East Godavari District in the state of AP). Earlier, ACT was present in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) through SR Cable TV. In Tamil Nadu (TN), it provides broadband internet services.
ACT is a triple play service provider offering an ensemble of information, communication and entertainment through Fibernet, Digital TV, Analog TV and IPTV. Headquartered in Bengaluru, ACT is spread across the towns and cities of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Tamil Nadu (TN). ACT says that it presently has 10 lakh (1 million) plus cable and broadband subscribers. ACT has been funded by IVFA (India Value Fund Advisor). Industry sources say that the company has crossed turnover of Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion).
Broadband
Airtel and Jio surge ahead as Vodafone Idea and BSNL lose subscribers in December
India’s mobile base rises in December, but gains skewed towards the top two operators
NEW DELHI: India’s telecom market ended 2025 with a familiar split: the leaders sprinting ahead, the laggards slipping further. Fresh data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) show Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio adding millions of wireless users in December, while Vodafone Idea and state-run BSNL continued to bleed subscribers.
India’s overall telephone subscriber base, wireless and wireline, climbed to 1.306 billion in December 2025, a monthly rise of 0.66 per cent. Growth was driven largely by wireless, which accounted for the bulk of new additions.
Bharti Airtel added 5.42 million wireless subscribers during the month, the biggest net gain among operators. Reliance Jio followed with roughly 2.96 million additions. Their gains were spread across multiple licensed service areas, underscoring broad-based momentum.
The story was starkly different for their rivals. Vodafone Idea recorded a net loss of about 9.4 lakh wireless subscribers, extending a run of monthly erosion. BSNL also saw its base shrink by around 2.06 lakh users. Despite marginal gains in a few circles, the PSU’s overall wireless base continued to contract.
Taken together, net wireless (mobile) additions across operators stood at 7.23 million in December.
Wireless subscribers, including mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA), rose to 1.258 billion, a net monthly increase of 8.21 million. Wireless tele-density improved to 88.41 per cent, though the urban–rural divide remained wide: urban tele-density at 140.66 per cent versus 59.07 per cent in rural areas.
The wireline segment posted modest growth. Subscribers increased from 47.05 million in November to 47.37 million in December, a 0.68 per cent monthly rise. Urban areas continued to dominate, while rural wireline tele-density stayed low.
Broadband crossed a symbolic milestone, with total subscribers topping one billion to reach 1,007.35 million by December-end. Mobile wireless broadband remained the primary access mode. In fixed wireless access, 5G FWA subscribers grew 5.59 per cent month on month, signalling gradual uptake of next-generation services.
Yet churn remains high. TRAI noted that about 16.12 million subscribers submitted mobile number portability requests in December alone.
The scoreboard is clear: scale is breeding more scale at the top, while smaller players struggle to hold ground. In India’s brutally competitive telecom arena, December’s numbers show a market that is still growing, but not evenly—and momentum, for now, sits firmly with the frontrunners.
