Broadband
Broadband erodes TV consumption in the UK
MUMBAI: Is the idiot box scoring over the fare on broadband in terms of the number of hours being spent with it even today? Previous research had clearly revealed that television continues to rule. However, new research emerging in the UK indicates that TV’s stranglehold is loosening. Users with high-speed broadband connections are switching off the TV in favour of using the internet for more than two hours a week.
A study condcuted by leading UK internet service provider Wanadoo Broadband, has revealed that consumers are spending more time on computers and less time watching TV, as broadband internet use erodes TV consumption in homes across the UK.
Called the Fishbowl 2 survey, it revealed that broadband users are online for almost twice as long (45 per cent) as narrowband users and that TV viewing is down by 12 per cent on the same period in 2002.
The study covered 1,000 people who were asked to record
their media consumption and preferences in a diary for two
weeks. Broadband emerged as the fastest growing medium in the home while TV, the fastest declining.
The survey shows that functional use of the internet is declining, with broadband users citing entertainment as their main reason for going online after 6pm. Broadband users also said the internet is the only medium to satisfy all their media needs — including entertainment, news, music and gossip — at once.
Wanadoo ad sales director Dave McCall pointed out that the findings only confirmed what the Internet industry has known for sometime.
“Broadband internet is slowly but surely eating into TV consumption,” McCall was quoted as saying in a news report in the UK “Advertisers need to take notice of this now, because not only is broadband the fastest growing medium in the home, it is the only medium that has 100 per cent advertising presence, 100 per cent of the time.”
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.
