Regulators
India’s telecom base crosses 1.314 billion mark in January 2026
Wireless adds 7.57m to hit 1.266bn, broadband surges past 1.052bn as Jio leads, MNP at 15.98m.
MUMBAI: Ring the changes, India’s telecom sector is off the hook! While the rest of us were busy scrolling through reels, the nation quietly dialled up another blockbuster month of connections, pushing the total telephone subscriber base to a staggering 1.314 billion as of 31 January 2026. That’s a breezy net addition of 7.86 million in just 30 days enough to fill a small city with new SIMs overnight.
The real hero of the story? Wireless. It climbed to 1,266.34 million, adding a cool 7.57 million users at a steady 0.60 per cent monthly growth. Urban wireless jumped 0.77 pr cent to 725.67 million, while rural added 2.98 million to reach 540.67 million. Even after stripping out machine-to-machine (M2M) links, the active wireless (mobile) subscriber count on peak Visitor Location Register day stood at 1,172.10 million, a whopping 93.70 per cent of the 1,250.89 million total wireless mobile base. Bharti Airtel takes the crown here with a near-perfect 99.64 per cent VLR proportion, proving its customers are actually using their phones, not just hoarding them.
Broadband, meanwhile, is having its own glow-up. Total broadband subscribers crossed the magical 1,052.72 million mark, up 2.12 million (0.20 per cent) from December 2025. Break it down and the story gets even tastier: fixed wired access (DSL, FTTx, cable) grew a healthy 0.83% to 45.83 million, fixed wireless access (5G FWA, Wi-Fi, satellite) shot up a sizzling 5.77 per cent to 15.95 million, and mobile wireless (handset/dongle 3G/4G/5G/M2M) nudged 0.09 per cent higher to 990.95 million. In plain English, India is going wireless-first, and fast.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. continues to own the broadband throne with 517.56 million subscribers, that’s a commanding 49.16 per cent market share. Bharti Airtel follows at 359.29 million (34.13 per cent), Vodafone Idea at 128.97 million (12.25 per cent), BSNL at 29.64 million, and Atria Convergence Technologies at 2.38 million. Together, these top five command a dizzying 98.59 per cent of the entire broadband pie. On the fixed-wired side alone, Jio still leads with 13.99 million, followed by Airtel (10.38 million), BSNL (4.47 million), Atria (2.38 million) and Kerala Vision (1.46 million) together holding 71.30 per cent. In wireless broadband (FWA + mobile), Jio’s 503.57 million, Airtel’s 348.91 million and Vodafone Idea’s 128.97 million make the top three almost untouchable at 99.98 per cent combined.
Even the old-school wireline segment refused to be left on hold. It grew 0.61 per cent to 47.66 million, adding 0.29 million net subscribers. Urban wireline sits at 42.59 million (89.36 per cent share), rural at 5.07 million. Private players dominate with 80.60 per cent market share; PSUs (BSNL, MTNL, APSFL) hold the remaining 19.40 per cent. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio led net additions here too, adding 209,890 and 179,166 lines respectively, while MTNL and BSNL saw small declines.
The numbers that really make you pause? Tele-density figures. Overall, India now boasts 92.22 per cent tele-density (including M2M). Urban areas are practically saturated at 149.84 per cent, while rural has climbed to 59.83 per cent, proof that the digital divide is shrinking, one village tower at a time. Delhi LSA leads the pack at a jaw-dropping 359.98 per cent, Bihar trails at 62.49 per cent. Without M2M, the national figure dips to 84.26 per cent, but the message stays loud and clear, India is more connected than ever.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) deserves its own spotlight. 5G FWA subscribers jumped to 11.53 million (urban 5.83 million, rural 5.70 million), while UBR FWA stood at 3.92 million. M2M cellular connections, the silent workhorses powering smart meters and IoT grew to 113.46 million, with Bharti Airtel holding a massive 70.18 million (61.85 per cent share), followed by Jio (20.60 million), Vodafone Idea (18.8 million) and BSNL (3.88 million).
Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests hit 15.98 million in January 8.97 million from Zone-I and 7.02 million from Zone-II. UP (East) led with 2.33 million, followed by UP (West) at 1.59 million in the north and Madhya Pradesh (1.52 million) plus Bihar (1.44 million) in the south/east. People are clearly shopping around for better deals.
Circle-wise, every category (A, B, C and Metro) posted positive net additions in both wireline and wireless segments. Circle A added 2.79 million wireless and 88,736 wireline, Circle B added 2.69 million wireless and 151,789 wireline. Yearly growth remains impressive too: wireless up 6.92 per cent nationally, wireline up 36.06 per cent. Only Kolkata LSA saw a tiny wireless dip; everywhere else, the green arrows were glowing.
So what does all this mean for the average Indian? More choices, faster 5G FWA rollouts in rural homes, cheaper data plans thanks to fierce competition, and a nation where your phone is no longer a luxury, it’s the default way to live, work, learn and stay connected. The lines are busier, the signals stronger, and India’s telecom story is far from over. In fact, it’s just getting started and the next billion connections are already dialling in.
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
