India’s telecom base crosses 1.36 billion subscribers in August

MUMBAI: India’s telecom numbers are still ringing loud, with the country’s total telephone subscriber base climbing to 1.36 billion by the end of August 2026 as broadband and wireless connections continued to grow.

Data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) shows total telephone subscribers rising from 1,354.28 million at the end of July to 1,360.70 million in August, a monthly growth of 0.47 per cent. Urban subscriptions rose to 802.28 million, while rural subscriptions reached 558.43 million.

Wireless subscriptions, including mobile and fixed wireless access, increased from 1,306.27 million to 1,312.25 million during the month, registering 0.46 per cent growth. Urban wireless subscriptions rose to 759.11 million, while rural connections reached 553.14 million.

The wireless mobile base alone rose 0.43 per cent to 1,293.43 million in August from 1,287.92 million in July. Urban mobile subscriptions increased to 748.84 million, while rural mobile connections edged up to 544.58 million.

Private operators continued to dominate the mobile market, accounting for 92.75 per cent of wireless mobile subscribers at the end of August. Public sector operators BSNL and MTNL together held the remaining 7.25 per cent.

India’s broadband base also crossed another major milestone, rising from 1,094.48 million subscribers in July to 1,101.21 million in August, a monthly growth rate of 0.61 per cent.

Mobile wireless access accounted for 1,033.24 million broadband subscriptions, up 0.56 per cent. Fixed wireless access grew 2.68 per cent to 19.34 million, while fixed wired access rose 1.01 per cent to 48.63 million.

Reliance Jio Infocomm led the broadband market with 538.03 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 386.39 million and Vodafone Idea with 130.88 million. BSNL had 27.82 million, while Atria Convergence Technologies had 2.48 million. Together, the top five providers accounted for 98.58 per cent of the broadband market.

In fixed wired broadband, Jio led with 14.81 million subscribers, followed by Airtel at 11.44 million, BSNL at 4.56 million, Atria Convergence Technologies at 2.48 million and Kerala Vision Broadband at 1.56 million. The top five held 71.66 per cent of the fixed wired market.

Fixed wireless access also continued to expand. Subscribers using 5G FWA increased from 13.21 million in July to 13.45 million in August. Of these, 6.47 million were urban and 6.98 million rural, giving rural users a 51.90 per cent share of the 5G FWA base.

UBR-based FWA subscriptions stood at 5.37 million, including 3.80 million urban and 1.57 million rural connections.

Machine-to-machine connectivity added another layer to the telecom ecosystem. M2M cellular connections increased from 137.70 million in July to 140.50 million in August. Airtel led this segment with 86.06 million connections and a 61.25 per cent market share, followed by Jio at 19.29 per cent, Vodafone Idea at 16.06 per cent and BSNL at 3.40 per cent.

Mobile number portability remained active, with 15.83 million subscribers submitting porting requests during August. Zone I, covering northern and western India, accounted for 8.67 million requests, while Zone II recorded 7.16 million.

Uttar Pradesh East recorded the highest number of requests in Zone I at 2.23 million, followed by Uttar Pradesh West at 1.51 million. In Zone II, Madhya Pradesh led with 1.53 million requests, followed by Bihar at 1.47 million.

Meanwhile, 1,207.59 million wireless mobile subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in August, representing around 93.36 per cent of the total 1,293.43 million mobile subscriber base. Airtel recorded the highest proportion of active subscribers among the top four operators at 99.01 per cent.

The August numbers underline how India’s telecom story is no longer just about adding SIM cards. Broadband, 5G fixed wireless, machine connectivity and number portability are all expanding alongside the country’s 1.36 billion-strong telephone base, keeping the sector firmly plugged into India’s digital growth story.