Broadband
Broadband subscriber growth improved in Jun-19
BENGALURU: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month ended 30 June 2019 (Jun-19, month or period under review) reveals that broadband subscriber additions have improved. Jun-19 recorded the second-highest number of subscriber additions in a month in the calendar year (CY 19) until 30 June 2019 at 130.8 lakh. The highest number of subscriber additions in CY 2019 was in the month ended 31 January 2019 (Jan-19) at 214.l9 lakh. 130.7 lakh broadband subscribers were added in India in the month ended 31 March 2019 (Mar-19).
The highest growth in broadband subscribers was wireless internet subscribers through Mobile – (Phones and Dongles) with 131.1 lakh subscriber additions during the period under review. Wired internet subscriber base in Jun-19 declined by 30,000, while subscribers of Fixed wireless- WiFi, Wi Max, Point to Point, Radio, Vsat remained static at 5.4 lakh.
Wireless broadband internet subscribers
In the case of wireless or mobile, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) was the biggest contributor in terms of broadband subscribers with 82.7 lakh subscribers added during the month under review. Jio’s subscriber base in Jun-19 was 3,312.6 lakh as compared to 3,229.9 lakh subscribers in May-19. Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), the second largest wireless broadband internet player in terms of subscribers, added 31.40 lakh wireless subscribers in Jun-19 to take its subscriber base to 1,190.90 lakh from 1,159,5 lakh in May-19. At third rank, the merged Idea-Vodafone entity added 15.1 lakh subscribers in Jun-19 to achieve a subscriber base of 1,105 lakh from 1,089.9 lakh in May-19. The fourth-ranked public sector BSNL added 3 lakh wireless broadband subscribers in Jun-19 for subscriber base of 128.7 lakh from 125.7 lakh in May-19. At fifth rank, Tata Teleservices saw its wireless broadband subscriber base decline by 90,000 to 14 lakh in Jun-19 from 14.9 lakh in May-19.
Wired broadband internet subscribers
As mentioned above, wired internet subscriber base declined by 30,000 in Jun-19 to 18.42 lakh in Jun-19 from 18.45 lakh in May-19. The two public sector wired broadband internet service providers – BSNL and MTNL lost 1.3 lakh wired broadband internet subscribers. Among the top 5 wired internet broadband internet subscribers, three private players added 1.1 lakh subscribers. Besides BSNL and MTNL losing 20,000 wired broadband subscribers, another 10,000 subscribers were lost by the other players during Jun-19.
BSNL continued to be the leading wired broadband internet services provider in Jun-19 with 90.5 lakh subscribers as compared to 90.9 lakh subscribers in the previous month, hence incurred a loss of 40,000 subscribers during the month. At second place was Airtel which added 10,000 subscribers in Jun-19 for a subscriber base of 24 lakh as compared to 23.9 lakh in May-19. Atria Convergence Technologies or ACT was ranked third in terms of number of wired broadband subscribers. ACT also added 10,000 subscribers in Jun-19 to reach a subscriber base of 14.5 lakh as compared to 14.4 lakh in May-19. Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd (Hathway) added 90,000 wired broadband subscribers to reach a subscriber base of 8.4 lakh in Jun-19 from 7.5 lakh in May-19. Fifth-ranked MTNL lost 90,000 subscribers in Jun-19 to reach a base of 7.4 lakh wired broadband subscribers in Jun-19 from 8.3 lakh in May-19.
All broadband internet subscribers
The top five broadband service providers constituted 98.72 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Jun-19. These service providers were Jio with 3,312.6 lakh (331.26 million, 33.126 crore) subscribers, Airtel with 1,214.93 lakh (121.49 million, 12.149 crore) subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 1,105.2 lakh (110.52 million, 11.052 crore) subscribers, BSNL with 219.3 lakh (21.93 million, 2.193 crore) subscribers and Tata Teleservices with 17.6 lakh (1.76 million, 0.176 crore) subscribers.
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.
