Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st January 2026

Ministry of Communications Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st January 2026 Posted On: 19 MAR 2026 7:23PM by PIB Delhi Particulars Wireless* Wireline Total (Wireless+ Wireline) Broadband Subscribers (Million) 1006.89 45.83 1052.72 Urban Telephone Subscribers (Million) 725.67 42.59 768.26 Net Addition in January 2026 (Million) 4.59 0.30 4.89 Monthly Growth Rate 0.64% 0.72% 0.64% Rural Telephone Subscribers (Million) 540.67 5.07 545.74 Net Addition in January 2026 (Million) 2.98 -0.01 2.97 Monthly Growth Rate 0.55% -0.24% 0.55% Total Telephone Subscribers (Million) 1266.34 47.66 1314.00 Net Addition in January 2026 (Million) 7.57 0.29 7.86 Monthly Growth Rate 0.60% 0.61% 0.60% Share of Urban Subscribers 57.30% 89.36% 58.47% Share of Rural Subscribers 42.70% 10.64% 41.53% Overall Tele-density@ with M2M cellular mobile 88.87% 3.34% 92.22% connections Urban Tele-density@ 141.53% 8.31% 149.84% Rural Tele-density@ 59.27% 0.56% 59.83% Tele-density@ without M2M cellular mobile 80.91% 3.34% 84.26% connections In the month of January 2026, 15.98 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The number of active wireless (mobile) subscribers (on the date of peak VLR#) in January 2026 was 1172.10 million. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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 July 2020. # VLR is acronym of Visitor Location Register. The dates of peak VLR for various Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) may 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 1480 operators for the month of January 2026, the total number of broadband subscribers increased from 1050.60 million at the end of December 2025 to 1052.72 million at the end of January 2026 with a monthly growth rate of 0.20%. 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 January 2026 Segment Subscription Broadband Subscribers Percentage Change (in million) December January 2025 2026 Wired Fixed Wired Access 45.45 45.83 0.83% subscribers (DSL, FTTx, Ethernet/LAN, Cable Modem, ILL) Wireless Fixed Wireless Access 15.08 15.95 5.77% Subscribers (5G FWA, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Radio/UBR, Satellite) Mobile Wireless Access 990.07 990.95 0.09% (Handset/Dongle-based-3G, 4G, 5G, M2M) Total Broadband Subscriptions 1050.60 1052.72 0.20% Top five Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Service providers as on 31st January 2026 S.N. Service Provider Subscriber base (In million) 1. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 517.56 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd. 359.29 3. Vodafone Idea Ltd. 128.97 4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. 29.64 5. Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. 2.38 Market Share of Top Five Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Service 98.59% Providers 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 as on 31st January 2026Top Five Fixed Wired Access Broadband Service providers as on 31st January 2026 S.N. Service Provider Subscriber base (In million) 1. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 13.99 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd. 10.38 3. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd 4.47 4. Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. 2.38 5. Kerala Vision Broadband Ltd. 1.46 Market Share of Top Five Fixed (Wired) Access Broadband Service 71.30% Providers Top five Wireless (Fixed wireless & mobile) Access Broadband Service providers as on 31st January 2026 S.N. Service Provider Subscriber base (In million) 1. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 503.57 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd. 348.91 3. Vodafone Idea Ltd. 128.97 4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. 25.17 5. IBus Virtual Network Services Private Limited 0.12 Market Share of Top Five Wireless (Fixed wireless & Mobile) Access 99.98% Broadband Service providers I. Wireline Telephone Subscriber Base The number of wireline subscribers increased from 47.37 million at the end of December 2025 to 47.66 million at the end of January 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.29 million with a monthly growth rate of 0.61%. The overall wireline tele-density in India increased from 3.33% at the end of December 2025 to 3.34% at the of January 2026. Urban and rural wireline tele-density were 8.31% and 0.56% respectively, on 31st January 2026. The shares of urban and rural subscribers in total wireline subscribers were 89.36% and 10.64% respectively, at the end of January 2026. PSU access service providers viz. BSNL, MTNL, and APSFL together held 19.40% of the wireline market share as on 31st January 2026. Detailed statistics of the wireline subscriber base are available at Annexure-I. Access Service Provider-wise Market Share of wireline Subscribers as on 31st January 2026The net addition/ decline in the wireline subscriber base of various access service providers in the month of January 2026 is given below: Access Service Provider-wise Net Addition/Decline in Wireline Subscribers during the month of January 2026 II. Wireless Telephone (Mobile + FWA) Subscriber Base The number of wireless (mobile + Fixed Wireless Access) subscribers increased from 1258.77 million at the end of December 2025 to 1266.34 million at the end of January 2026, thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 0.60%. Total wireless subscription in urban areas increasedfrom 720.15 million on 31st December 2025 to 725.67 million on 31st January 2026. The subscription in rural areas also increased from 538.62 million to 540.67 million during the same period. The monthly growth rate of urban and rural wireless subscriptions was 0.77% and 0.38%, respectively. The wireless tele-density in India increased from 88.41% at the end of December 2025 to 88.87% at the end of January 2026. The urban wireless tele-density increased from 140.66% at the end of December 2025 to 141.53% at the end of January 2026. The rural wireless tele-density increased from 59.07% to 59.27% during the same period. The share of urban and rural wireless subscribers in the total number of wireless subscribers was 57.30% and 42.70%, respectively, at the end of January 2026. Note: In the calculation of Tele-density figures, M2M cellular mobile connections have also been considered. The details of wireless (mobile) subscribers and wireless (FWA) subscribers are given below: (A) Wireless (mobile) subscriber Base The number of wireless (mobile) subscribers increased from 1244.20 million at the end of December 2025 to 1250.89 million at the end of January 2026 thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 0.54%. Wireless (mobile) subscription in urban areas increased from 712.03 million at the end of December 2025 to 717.06 million at the end of January 2026 and wireless (mobile) subscription in rural areas also increased from 532.17 million to 533.83 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural wireless (mobile) subscription were 0.71% and 0.31% respectively. The wireless (mobile) tele-density in India increased from 87.38% at the end of December 2025 to 87.79% at the end of January 2026. The urban wireless (mobile) tele-density increased from 139.08% at the end of December 2025 to 139.86% at the end of January 2026 and rural wireless (mobile) tele-density increased from 58.36% to 58.52% during the same period. The share of urban and rural wireless (mobile) subscribers in the total number of wireless (mobile) subscribers were 57.32% and 42.68% respectively, at the end of January 2026. The detailed statistics of wireless (mobile) subscriber base is available at Annexure-II.Note: In the calculation of Tele-density figures, M2M cellular mobile connections have also been considered. • As on 31st January 2026, the private access service providers held 92.54% of the market share in terms of wireless (mobile) subscribers, whereas PSU access service providers viz. BSNL and MTNL together held a market share of 7.46%. The graphical representation of access service provider-wise market share and net additions in wireless (mobile) subscriber base are given below: - Access Service Provider-wise Market Shares in term of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers as on 31st January 2026 Net Addition/ Decline in Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers of Access Service Providers in the month of January 2026 Growth in Wireless (Mobile) SubscribersMajor Access Service Provider-wise Monthly Growth/ Decline Rate of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers in the month of January 2026 Licensed Service Area (LSA)-wise Monthly Growth/ Decline rate of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers in the month of January 2026 Except Kolkata, all other LSAs have shown growth in their wireless (Mobile) subscribers during the month of January 2026. (B) Wireless (FWA) subscriber Base At present, fixed wireless access (FWA) based services are being provided under two categories viz. a. 5G FWA i.e. FWA using 5G radio access technology; and b. UBR FWA i.e. FWA using Unlicensed Band Radio (UBR) technology. The number of wireless (5G FWA) subscribers increased from 10.99 million at the end of December 2025 to 11.53 million at the end of January 2026 with subscriptions in urban and rural areas as 5.83 million and 5.70 million respectively. The shares of urban and rural wireless (5G FWA) subscribers in total wireless (5G FWA) subscribers were 50.55% and 49.45% respectively, at the end of January 2026. LSA wise information on the wireless (5G FWA) subscriber base is available at Annexure-V. UBR FWA subscription stood at 3.92 million at the end of January 2026 with subscriptions in urban and rural areas of 2.78 million and 1.14 million respectively. The shares of urban and rural wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers in total wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers were 70.89% and 29.11% respectively, at the end of January 2026. LSA wise information on the wireless (UBR FWA) subscriber base is available at Annexure- VI. III. M2M cellular mobile connections The Number of M2M cellular mobile connections increased from 109.19 million at the end of December 2025 to 113.46 million at the end of January 2026.Bharti Airtel Limited has the highest number of M2M cellular mobile connections of 70.18 million with a market share of 61.85%, followed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and BSNL with market share of 18.15%, 16.58% and 3.42% respectively. The bifurcation of service provider wise total M2M subscriptions and Broadband M2M subscriptions for the month of January 2026 is given below: Service Provider Total M2M Broadband M2M (2G/3G/4G/5G) (3G/4G/5G) Subscriptions Subscriptions (in Million) (in Million) Bharti Airtel Limited 70.17 40.03 Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited 20.60 20.60 Vodafone Idea Limited 18.8 7.69 BSNL 3.88 2.2 Total 113.46 70.52 Total Telephone Subscriber Base The number of total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1306.14 million at the end of December 2025 to 1314.00 million at the end of January 2026, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.60%. Urban telephone subscription increased from 762.44 million at the end of December 2025 to 768.26 million at the end of January 2026 and the rural telephone subscription also increased from 543.70 million to 545.74 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural telephone subscription were 0.76% and 0.38% respectively during the month of January 2026. The overall tele-density in India increased from 91.74% at the end of December 2025 to 92.22% at the end of January 2026. The urban tele-density increased from 148.92% at the end of December 2025 to 149.84% at the end of January 2026 and rural tele-density also increased from 59.63% to59.83% during the same period. The share of urban and rural subscribers in total number of telephone subscribers at the end of January 2026 were 58.47% and 41.53% respectively. Note: In the calculation of Tele-density figures, M2M cellular mobile connections have also been considered. A summary of total telephone subscriber base at the end of January 2026 is as below: Telephone subscriber base as on 31st January 2026 (in million) S. No. Type of telephone connection No. of Total subscribers 1. Wireless Consumer SIM 1,137.43 1,266.34 2. M2M SIM 113.46 3. FWA 15.45 4. Wireline 47.66 5. Total 1,314.00 The following table provides a summary information on wireless (mobile) telephone subscriber base as on 31st January 2026: S. No. Item No. of subscribers 1. No. of Wireless (mobile) connections including M2M 1,250.89 cellular mobile connections * 2. No. of Wireless (mobile) connections excluding M2M 1,137.43 cellular mobile connections * Wireless (mobile) connections = Consumer SIM + M2M SIM Overall Tele-density (LSA Wise) – As on 31st January 2026As may be seen in the above chart, nine LSAs have less tele-density than the all-India average tele- density at the end of January 2026. Delhi LSA has the maximum tele-density of 359.98% and the Bihar LSA has the minimum tele-density of 62.49% at the end of January 2026. Notes: - 1. Population data/projections are available state wise only. 2. Tele-density figures are derived from the telephone subscriber data provided by the access service providers and the projection of population from the “Report of the Technical Group on Population Projections for India and States 2011 – 2036. 3. Telephone subscriber data for Delhi, includes, apart from the data for the State of Delhi, wireless subscriber data for the areas served by the local exchanges of Ghaziabad & Noida (in Uttar Pradesh) and Gurgaon & Faridabad (in Haryana). 4. Data/information for West Bengal includes Kolkata, Maharashtra includes Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh includes UPE & UPW service areas. 5. Data/information for Andhra Pradesh includes Telengana, Madhya Pradesh includes Chhatishgarh, Bihar includes Jharkhand, Maharashtra includes Goa, Uttar Pradesh includes Uttarakhand, West Bengal includes Sikkim and North-East includes Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland & Tripura States. 6. In the calculation of Tele-density figures, M2M cellular mobile connections have also been included. Category-wise Growth in subscriber base Circle Category-wise Net Additions in Telephone Subscribers in the Month January 2026 Circle Net additions in the month of Telephone Subscriber base as on 31st January 2026 January 2026 Category Wireline Wireless* Wireline Wireless* segment segment segment segment Circle A 88,736 2,792,442 20,246,256 424,604,391 Circle B 151,789 2,687,647 11,682,665 493,418,338 Circle C 43,407 1,850,566 3,571,722 209,282,801 Metro 6,718 240,258 12,158,198 139,034,730 All India 290,650 7,570,913 47,658,841 1,266,340,260 Circle Category-wise Monthly and Yearly Growth Rates in Telephone Subscribers in the Month of December 2025Circle Monthly growth rate (%) (December Yearly growth rate (%) (January 2025 Category 2025 to January 2026) to January 2026) Wireline Wireless* Segment Wireline Wireless* Segment Segment Segment Circle A 0.44% 0.66% 49.54% 8.29% Circle B 1.32% 0.55% 22.81% 5.12% Circle C 1.23% 0.89% 30.12% 8.72% Metro 0.06% 0.17% 31.73% 6.66% All India 0.61% 0.60% 36.06% 6.92% * The wireless subscriber base comprises of wireless mobile telephone subscribers (including M2M cellular mobile connections), and FWA subscribers. Note: Circle Category-Metro includes Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. As can be seen in the above tables, in the wireless segment, during the month of January 2026, on a monthly basis, all circles have registered a growth in their subscriber bases. On a yearly basis also, all the circles have registered a growth in their wireless subscriber bases. In the wireline segment, during the month of January 2026, on a monthly basis, all circles have registered a growth in their subscribers. On a yearly basis also, all circles have registered a growth in their wireline subscriber bases. VII. Active Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers (VLR Data) Out of the total 1250.89 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1172.10 million wireless (mobile) subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in the month of January 2026. The proportion of active wireless (mobile) subscribers was approximately 93.70% of the total wireless (mobile) subscriber base. The detailed statistics on the proportion of active wireless (mobile) subscribers (also referred to as VLR subscribers) on the date of peak VLR in the month of January 2026 is available at Annexure- III and the methodology used for reporting VLR subscribers is available at Annexure-IV. Percentage of VLR Subscribers for the Top Four Access Service Providers in the month of January 2026 Bharti Airtel has the maximum proportion- 99.64% of its active wireless (mobile) subscribers (VLR) as against its total wireless (mobile) subscribers (HLR) on the date of peak VLR in the month of January 2026. Service Area wise percentage of VLR Subscribers in the month of January 2026VIII. Mobile Number Portability (MNP) MNP was implemented in Haryana Licensed Service Area (LSA) with effect from 25.11.2010 and across the rest of the country with effect from 20.01.2011. Initially, it was available only within the same LSA. Inter-LSA MNP was introduced nationwide with effect from 03.07.2015, enabling wireless subscribers to retain their mobile numbers when they relocate from one LSA to another. During the month of January 2026, about 15.98 million subscribers submitted their requests for MNP. Out of total requests, number of requests received from Zone-I & Zone-II were about 8.97 million and 7.02 million respectively. In MNP Zone-I (Northern and Western India), the highest number of requests have been received in UP(East) LSA (2.33 million) followed by U.P.(West) LSA (1.59 million). In MNP Zone-II (Southern and Eastern India), the highest number of requests have been received in Madhya Pradesh LSA (1.52 million) followed by Bihar LSA (1.44 million). Licensed Service Area Wise MNP Status (in million) Zone-I Zone–II Service Area Number of Porting Requests in Service Number of Porting Requests Area in the month of the month of December-25 January-26 December-25 January-26 Delhi 0.75 0.74 Andhra 0.69 0.68 Pradesh Gujarat 1.15 1.09 Assam 0.13 0.12 Haryana 0.46 0.46 Bihar 1.45 1.44 Himachal 0.06 0.06 Karnataka 0.63 0.62 Pradesh Jammu & 0.07 0.07 Kerala 0.25 0.25 Kashmir Maharashtra 1.09 1.07 Kolkata 0.19 0.20 Mumbai 0.27 0.27 Madhya 1.52 1.52 Pradesh Punjab 0.40 0.39 North East 0.03 0.03 Rajasthan 0.93 0.90 Odisha 0.25 0.25 U.P.(East) 2.30 2.33 Tamil Nadu 0.65 0.59 U.P.(West) 1.56 1.59 West Bengal 1.29 1.32Total 9.02 8.97 Total 7.10 7.02 Total (Zone-I + Zone-II) 16.12 15.98 Contact details in case of any clarification: - Shri Akhilesh Kumar Trivedi, Advisor (NSL-II), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India World Trade Centre, Tower-F, Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi – 110029 Ph: 011-20907758 (Ashok Kumar Jha) E-mail: advmn@trai.gov.in Pr. Advisor (NSL), TRAINote: Peak VLR figures in some LSAs of some of the service providers are more than their HLR figures due to a large number of inroamers. Annexure IV VLR Subscribers in the Wireless Segment Home Location Register (HLR) is a central database that contains details of each mobile phone subscriber that is authorized to use the GSM core network. The HLRs store details of every SIM card issued by the service provider. Each SIM has a unique identifier called an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), which is the primary key to each HLR record. The HLR data is stored for as long as a subscriber remains with the service provider. HLR also manages the mobility of subscribers by means of updating their position in administrative areas. It sends the subscriber data to a Visitor Location Register (VLR). Subscriber numbers reported by the service providers is the difference between the numbers of IMSI registered in service provider’s HLR and sum of other figures as given below: - 1 Total IMSI's in HLR (A) 2 Less: (B = a + b + c + d + e) a. Test/Service Cards b. Employees c. Stock in hand/in Distribution Channels (Active Card) d. Subscriber Retention period expired e. Service suspended pending disconnection 3 Subscribers Base (A-B) Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a temporary database of the subscribers who have roamed into the particular area, which it serves. Each base station in the network is served by exactly one VLR; hence a subscriber cannot be present in more than one VLR at a time. If subscriber is in active stage i.e. he is able to send/receive calls/SMSs he is available both in HLR and VLR. However, it may be possible that the subscriber is registered in HLR but not in VLR due to the reason that he is either switched-off or moved out of coverage area, not reachable etc. In such circumstances he will be available in HLR but not in VLR. This causes difference between subscriber number reported by the service providers based on HLR and numbers available in VLR. The VLR subscriber data calculated here is based on active subscribers in VLR on the date of Peak subscriber number in VLR of the particular month for which the data is being collected. This data is to be taken from the switches having the purge time of not more than 72 hours. Fixed-Wireless (5G) Subscribers Base Annexure-V 5G-Fixed Wireless Subscribers TSPs Name → Bharti Airtel Reliance Jio Grand Total ↓Telecom Service Dec-25 Jan-26 Dec-25 Jan-26 Dec-25 Jan-26 Area Andhra Pradesh 283,374 307,091 675,280 697,291 958,654 1,004,382 Assam 62,416 69,755 187,285 194,045 249,701 263,800 Bihar 144,522 162,974 650,469 675,014 794,991 837,988 Delhi 149,660 162,498 228,262 229,492 377,922 391,990 Gujarat 172,601 187,572 431,728 440,982 604,329 628,554 Haryana 80,353 87,455 222,578 228,678 302,931 316,133Himachal Pradesh 14,884 16,551 75,076 77,368 89,960 93,919 Jammu & Kashmir 54,000 60,318 173,291 176,816 227,291 237,134 Karnataka 265,061 286,498 404,253 415,141 669,314 701,639 Kerala 58,412 63,557 177,190 185,847 235,602 249,404 Kolkata 86,228 91,655 160,300 162,495 246,528 254,150 Madhya Pradesh 135,682 151,026 539,118 558,875 674,800 709,901 Maharashtra 263,445 286,745 605,285 618,023 868,730 904,768 Mumbai 99,997 106,945 105,315 108,029 205,312 214,974 North East 33,584 37,103 85,273 87,943 118,857 125,046 Odisha 69,910 76,941 287,887 300,789 357,797 377,730 Punjab 143,221 158,232 480,085 492,904 623,306 651,136 Rajasthan 180,671 198,995 449,508 462,803 630,179 661,798 Tamil Nadu 371,118 399,648 369,097 381,330 740,215 780,978 Uttar Pradesh (East) 179,662 202,176 663,985 686,198 843,647 888,374 Uttar Pradesh (West) 139,478 153,936 512,846 528,312 652,324 682,248 West Bengal 83,537 91,766 437,777 459,229 521,314 550,995 TOTAL 3,071,816 3,359,437 7,921,888 8,167,604 10,993,704 11,527,041 Net Addition 287,621 245,716 533,337 Monthly Growth % 9.36% 3.10% 4.85% Annexure-VI Fixed-Wireless (UBR) Subscribers Base UBR- Fixed Wireless Subscribers TSPs Name → Reliance Jio ↓Telecom Service Area Dec-25 Jan-26 Andhra Pradesh 288,198 317,471 Assam 29,231 32,210 Bihar 241,585 268,491 Delhi 246,562 268,957 Gujarat 246,568 268,256 Haryana 161,976 174,604 Himachal Pradesh 9,280 10,223 Jammu & Kashmir 68,781 75,584 Karnataka 217,951 239,649Kerala 8,914 9,456 Kolkata 156,494 172,406 Madhya Pradesh 208,332 231,866 Maharashtra 296,166 322,967 Mumbai 51,717 55,920 North East 12,357 13,570 Odisha 46,465 51,163 Punjab 212,875 229,817 Rajasthan 254,119 278,238 Tamil Nadu 153,714 165,797 Uttar Pradesh (East) 247,390 270,998 Uttar Pradesh (West) 311,756 342,087 West Bengal 108,975 119,490 TOTAL 3,579,406 3,919,220 Net Addition 339,814 Monthly Growth % 9.49% *Only Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has reported the information on the number of UBR FWA subscribers ****. 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