Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data at the end of August 2026

Particulars
Wireless*
Wireline
Total
(Wireless+
Wireline)
Broadband Subscribers with M2M cellular mobile connections (Million)
1,052.58
48.63
1,101.21
Broadband Subscribers without M2M cellular mobile connections (Million)
961.65
48.63
1,010.28
Urban Telephone Subscribers (Million)
759.11
43.16
802.28
Net Addition in August 2026 (Million)
5.25
0.34
5.59
Monthly Growth Rate
0.70%
0.80%
0.70%
Rural Telephone Subscribers (Million)
553.14
5.29
558.43
Net Addition in August 2026 (Million)
0.73
0.10
0.83
Monthly Growth Rate
0.13%
1.96%
0.15%
Total Telephone Subscribers (Million)
1312.25
48.45
1360.70
Net Addition in August 2026 (Million)
5.98
0.44
6.42
Monthly Growth Rate
0.46%
0.93%
0.47%
Share of Urban Subscribers
57.85%
89.08%
58.96%
Share of Rural Subscribers
42.15%
10.92%
41.04%
Overall Tele-density@ with M2M cellular mobile connections
91.69%
3.39%
95.07%
Urban Tele-density@
146.66%
8.34%
155.00%
Rural Tele-density@
60.55%
0.58%
61.12%
Tele-density@ without M2M cellular mobile connections
81.87%
3.39%
85.26%

In the month of August 2026, 15.83 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
The number of active wireless (mobile) subscribers (on the date of peak VLR#) in August 2026 was 1207.59 million.
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Note:
* The wireless subscriber base comprises of wireless mobile telephone subscribers (including M2M cellular mobile connections), and FWA subscribers.
@ Tele-density has been computed on the basis of the projection of population from the 'Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States 2011 - 2036', published in August 2020.
# VLR is an acronym of Visitor Location Register. The dates of peak VLR for various Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) August be different in different service areas.
Information in this press release is based on the data provided by the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to TRAI.

Broadband Subscribers
As per the information received from 1579 operators for the month of August 2026, the total number of broadband subscribers increased from 1094.48 million at the end of July 2026 to 1101.21 million at the end of August 2026 with a monthly growth rate of 0.61%. Segment-wise number of broadband subscribers and their monthly growth rates are as below: -
Segment-wise Broadband Subscribers and Monthly Growth Rate in the month of August 2026

Segment
Subscription
Broadband Subscribers
(in million)
Percentage Change
July 2026
August
2026
Wired subscribers
Fixed Wired Access
(DSL, FTTx, Ethernet/LAN, Cable Modem, ILL)
48.14
48.63
1.01%
Wireless Subscribers
Fixed Wireless Access
(5G FWA, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Radio/UBR, Satellite)
18.84
19.34
2.68%
Mobile Wireless Access
(Handset/Dongle/M2M-based-3G, 4G, 5G)
1027.50
1033.24
0.56%
Total Broadband Subscriptions
1094.48
1101.21
0.61%

Top five Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Service providers at the end of August 2026
S.N.
Service Provider
Subscriber base
(In million)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
538.03

Bharti Airtel Ltd.
386.39

Vodafone Idea Ltd.
130.88

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
27.82

Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd.
2.48
Market Share of Top Five Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Service Providers
98.58%

The graphical representation of the service provider-wise market share of broadband services is given below: -
Service Provider-wise Market Share of Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Services at the end of August 2026

Top Five Fixed Wired Access Broadband Service providers at the end of August 2026

S.N.
Service Provider
Subscriber base
(In million)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
14.81

Bharti Airtel Ltd.
11.44

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd
4.56

Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd.
2.48

Kerala Vision Broadband Ltd.
1.56
Market Share of Top Five Fixed (Wired) Access Broadband Service Providers
71.66%

Top five Wireless (Fixed wireless & mobile) Access Broadband Service providers at the end of August 2026

S.N.
Service Provider
Subscriber base
(In million)

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
523.22

Bharti Airtel Ltd.
374.96

Vodafone Idea Ltd.
130.87

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
23.26

IBus Virtual Network Services Private Limited
0.12
Market Share of Top Five Wireless (Fixed wireless & Mobile) Access Broadband Service providers
99.99%
Wireline Telephone Subscriber Base
The number of wireline subscribers increased from 48.01 million at the end of July 2026 to 48.45 million at the end of August 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.44 million with a monthly growth rate of 0.93%.
The overall wireline tele-density in India increased from 3.36% at the end of July 2026 to 3.39% at the end of August 2026. Urban and rural wireline tele-density were 8.34% and 0.58% respectively, at the end of August 2026. The respective share of urban subscribers, and rural subscribers in total wireline subscribers were 89.08% and 10.92% respectively at the end of August 2026.
PSU access service providers viz. BSNL, MTNL, and APSFL together held 16.05% of the wireline market share at the end of August 2026. Detailed statistics of the wireline subscriber base are available at Annexure-I.
Click here to see Annexure