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Tag: broadband subscriber

  • TRAI telecom data: India’s rural surge, internet binge and DTH downfall ring loud in March

    TRAI telecom data: India’s rural surge, internet binge and DTH downfall ring loud in March

    MUMBAI: India’s telecom scene in March 2025 was a tale of two Indias—rural Bharat rising on data dreams and legacy players like BSNL and MTNL gasping for bars. According to TRAI’s fresh data, it was a month of gains for mobile and broadband, and growing static for DTH.

    The total number of wireless subscribers climbed slightly to 1,160.65 million, with rural India accounting for nearly 80 per cent of new additions. Villages added 1.1 million users, urban India added just 296,000—proof that the real action is beyond city limits.

    Reliance Jio was on fire, gaining 2.15 million wireless users and reinforcing its market leadership with 39.6 per cent share. Bharti Airtel added 1.03 million, keeping pace. Vodafone Idea lost nearly 700,000 subscribers, and BSNL continued its freefall with a 1.25 million loss.

    India’s broadband subscriber base touched 946.32 million, a monthly growth of 0.21 per cent. Unsurprisingly, 4G/5G mobile broadband accounted for 921.4 million of those connections—soaring on reels, reels, and more reels.

    On the wireline broadband front, Jio continued to hustle, adding over 320,000 subscribers, bringing its fixed-line share to 33.6 per cent. Airtel stayed solid with over 100,000 adds, while government dinosaurs BSNL and MTNL lost tens of thousands more. Between sluggish service and vanishing relevance, they’ve become the landline’s last rites.

    In the home entertainment arena, the direct-to-home (DTH) sector saw a slide. Total active DTH subscribers dropped to 64.17 million from 64.45 million—a fall of over 278,000 users in just one month.

    Cord-cutting is no longer a western trend; it’s happening across Indian homes as OTT apps and smart TVs eat into satellite’s share. Operators like Tata Play and Airtel Digital are still holding their ground, but the writing is on the (living room) wall.

    The big takeaway? Rural India is dialling up, streaming more, and finally enjoying digital parity. Jio’s aggressive expansion is paying off across both mobile and fibre, while BSNL’s steady subscriber bleed raises existential questions.

    DTH is beginning to look like the landline of television. The OTT wave is here, and it’s pulling viewers—and revenue—away from satellite.

    With spectrum auctions around the corner and AI-fuelled data demands skyrocketing, India’s telecom race is less about who picks up the call—and more about who controls the cloud.

  • Reliance Jio loses 9.3 million wireless subscribers in January: Trai

    Reliance Jio loses 9.3 million wireless subscribers in January: Trai

    Mumbai: Telecom major Reliance Jio lost 9.3 million wireless subscribers at the end of January, as per subscription data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). 

    Bharti Airtel added 714,199 wireless subscribers during the same period. Vodafone Idea and BSNL lost 389,082 and 377,520 wireless subscribers, respectively at the end of January, the data revealed.

    The total wireless subscribers decreased from 1,154.62 million to 1,145.24 million at the end of January. The wireless subscription in urban areas decreased from 633.34 million to 627.12 million. Similarly, rural subscriptions also declined from 521.28 million to 518.13 million during the same period.

    According to Trai, there were 1006.57 million active wireless subscribers in the month of January out of which Reliance Jio had 368.53 million, Bharti Airtel had 349.99 million, Vodafone Idea had 228.81 million and BSNL had 58.64 million active subscribers.

    During the month, as per information received from 616 broadband operators, Trai reported a decrease in broadband subscribers from 792.08 million to 783.43 million. Out of these, 26.65 million were wired subscribers, 755.66 million were wireless subscribers and 1.12 million were fixed wireless subscribers i.e., Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Max, point-to-point radio, and VSAT.

    The top five broadband service providers constituted 98.46 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of January. These service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 411.23 million, Bharti Airtel at 210.75 million, Vodafone Idea at 121.08 million, BSNL at 26.25 million, and Atria Convergence at 2.04 million subscribers.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 4.83 million, Bharti Airtel at 4.33 million, BSNL at 3.90 million, Atria Convergence Technologies at 2.04 million, and Hathway Cable & Datacom at 1.10 million subscribers.

    The top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd at 406.39 million, Bharti Airtel at 206.42 million, Vodafone Idea at 121.07 million, BSNL at 22.35 million, and Intech Online at 0.21 million subscribers.  

    The total number of telephone subscribers in India decreased from 1178.41 million to 1169.46 million. Urban telephone subscriptions decreased from 655.20 million to 649.38 million and rural subscriptions decreased from 523.21 million to 520.08 million.

    Wireline subscribers increased from 23.79 million to 24.21 million at the end of January.