Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data at the end of February 2026

Ministry of Communications Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data at the end of February 2026 Posted On: 01 APR 2026 6:55PM by PIB Delhi Particulars Wireless* Wireline Total (Wireless+ Wireline) Broadband Subscribers (Million) 1013.03 46.02 1059.05 Urban Telephone Subscribers (Million) 730.75 42.91 773.66 Net Addition in February 2026 (Million) 5.08 0.32 5.40 Monthly Growth Rate 0.70% 0.75% 0.70% Rural Telephone Subscribers (Million) 542.56 5.08 547.65 Net Addition in February 2026 (Million) 1.89 0.01 1.90 Monthly Growth Rate 0.35% 0.28% 0.35% Total Telephone Subscribers (Million) 1273.31 47.99 1321.31 Net Addition in February 2026 (Million) 6.97 0.34 7.31 Monthly Growth Rate 0.55% 0.70% 0.56% Share of Urban Subscribers 57.39% 89.41% 58.55% Share of Rural Subscribers 42.61% 10.59% 41.45% Overall Tele-density@ with M2M cellular mobile 89.30% 3.37% 92.66% connections Urban Tele-density@ 142.32% 8.36% 150.68%Rural Tele-density@ 59.46% 0.56% 60.02% Tele-density@ without M2M cellular mobile 80.99% 3.37% 84.36% connections In the month of February 2026, 14.47 million subscribers submitted their requests for Mobile Number Portability (MNP). The number of active wireless (mobile) subscribers (on the date of peak VLR#) in February 2026 was 1177.60 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 an 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 1472 operators for the month of February 2026, the total number of broadband subscribers increased from 1052.72 million at the end of January 2026 to 1059.05 million at the end of February 2026 with a monthly growth rate of 0.60%. 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 February 2026 Segment Subscription Broadband Subscribers Percentage Change (in million) January February 2026 2026 Wired Fixed Wired Access 45.83 46.02 0.42% subscribers (DSL, FTTx, Ethernet/LAN, Cable Modem, ILL)Wireless Fixed Wireless Access 15.95 16.51 3.54% Subscribers (5G FWA, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, Radio/UBR, Satellite) Mobile Wireless Access 990.95 996.52 0.56% (Handset/Dongle/M2M-based-3G, 4G, 5G) Total Broadband Subscriptions 1052.72 1059.05 0.60% Top five Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Service providers at the end of February 2026 S.N. Service Provider Subscriber base (In million) 1. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 519.64 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd. 364.14 3. Vodafone Idea Ltd. 129.36 4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. 28.70 5. Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. 2.38 Market Share of Top Five Broadband (Wired & Wireless) Service 98.60% 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 at the end of February 2026Top Five Fixed Wired Access Broadband Service providers at the end of February 2026 S.N. Service Provider Subscriber base (In million) 1. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 14.10 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd. 10.54 3. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd 4.43 4. Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd. 2.38 5. Kerala Vision Broadband Ltd. 1.47 Market Share of Top Five Fixed (Wired) Access Broadband Service 71.54% Providers Top five Wireless (Fixed wireless & mobile) Access Broadband Service providers at the end of February 2026 S.N. Service Provider Subscriber base (In million) 1. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. 505.54 2. Bharti Airtel Ltd. 353.613. Vodafone Idea Ltd. 129.35 4. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. 24.26 5. IBus Virtual Network Services Private Limited 0.12 Market Share of Top Five Wireless (Fixed wireless & Mobile) Access 99.99% Broadband Service providers I. Wireline Telephone Subscriber Base The number of wireline subscribers increased from 47.66 million at the end of January 2026 to 47.99 million at the end of February 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.34 million with a monthly growth rate of 0.70%. The overall wireline tele-density in India increased from 3.34% at the end of January 2026 to 3.37% at the end of February 2026. Urban and rural wireline tele-density were 8.36% and 0.56% respectively, at the end of February 2026. The shares of urban and rural subscribers in total wireline subscribers were 89.41% and 10.59% respectively, at the end of February 2026. PSU access service providers viz. BSNL, MTNL, and APSFL together held 19.12% of the wireline market share at the end of February 2026. Detailed statistics of the wireline subscriber base are available at Annexure-I. Access Service Provider-wise Market Share of wireline Subscribers at the end of February 2026 The net addition/ decline in the wireline subscriber base of various access service providers in the month of February 2026 is given below:Access Service Provider-wise Net Addition/Decline in Wireline Subscribers during the month of February 2026 II. Wireless Telephone (Mobile + FWA) Subscriber Base The number of wireless (mobile + Fixed Wireless Access) subscribers increased from 1266.34 million at the end of January 2026 to 1273.31 million at the end of February 2026, thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 0.55%. Total wireless subscription in urban areas increased from 725.67 million at the end of January 2026 to 730.75 million at the end of February 2026. The subscription in rural areas also increased from 540.67 million to 542.56 million during the same period. The monthly growth rate of urban and rural wireless subscriptions was 0.70% and 0.35%, respectively. The wireless tele-density in India increased from 88.87% at the end of January 2026 to 89.30% at the end of February 2026. The urban wireless tele-density increased from 141.53% at the end of January 2026 to 142.32% at the end of February 2026. The rural wireless tele- density increased from 59.27% to 59.46% during the same period. The share of urban and rural wireless subscribers in the total number of wireless subscribers was 57.39% and 42.61%, respectively, at the end of February 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 1250.89 million at the end of January 2026 to 1257.29 million at the end of February 2026 thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 0.51%. Wireless (mobile) subscription in urban areas increased from 717.06 million at the end of January 2026 to 721.84 million at the end of February 2026 and wireless (mobile) subscription in rural areas also increased from 533.83 million to 535.46 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural wireless (mobile) subscription were 0.67% and 0.30% respectively.The wireless (mobile) tele-density in India increased from 87.79% at the end of January 2026 to 88.17% at the end of February 2026. The urban wireless (mobile) tele-density increased from 139.86% at the end of January 2026 to 140.58% at the end of February 2026 and rural wireless (mobile) tele-density increased from 58.52% to 58.68% during the same period. The share of urban and rural wireless (mobile) subscribers in the total number of wireless (mobile) subscribers were 57.41% and 42.59% respectively, at the end of February 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. • At the end of February 2026, the private access service providers held 92.59% 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 7.41%. 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 at the end of February 2026Net Addition/ Decline in Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers of Access Service Providers in the month of February 2026 Growth in Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers Major Access Service Provider-wise Monthly Growth/ Decline Rate of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers in the month of February 2026Licensed Service Area (LSA)-wise Monthly Growth/ Decline rate of Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers in the month of February 2026 Except Kolkata, all other LSAs have shown growth in their wireless (Mobile) subscribers during the month of February 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 11.53 million at the end of January 2026 to 11.93 million at the end of February 2026 with subscriptions in urban and rural areas as 6.01 million and 5.92 million respectively. The shares of urban and rural wireless (5G FWA) subscribers in total wireless (5G FWA) subscribers were 50.38% and 49.62% respectively, at the end of February 2026. LSA wise information on the wireless (5G FWA) subscriber base is available at Annexure-V. UBR FWA subscription stood at 4.09 million at the end of February 2026 with subscriptions in urban and rural areas of 2.90 million and 1.18 million respectively. The shares of urban and rural wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers in total wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers were 71.00% and 29.00% respectively, at the end of February 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 113.46 million at the end of January 2026 to 118.47 million at the end of February 2026. Bharti Airtel Limited has the highest number of M2M cellular mobile connections of 73.49 million with a market share of 62.03%, followed by Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, Vodafone Idea Limited and BSNL with market share of 18.35%, 16.31% and 3.31% respectively. IV. Total Telephone Subscriber BaseThe number of total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1314.00 million at the end of January 2026 to 1321.31 million at the end of February 2026, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.56%. Urban telephone subscription increased from 768.26 million at the end of January 2026 to 773.66 million at the end of February 2026 and the rural telephone subscription also increased from 545.74 million to 547.65 million during the same period. The monthly growth ratesof urban and rural telephone subscription were 0.70% and 0.35% respectively during the month of February 2026. The overall tele-density in India increased from 92.22% at the end of January 2026 to 92.66% at the end of February 2026. The urban tele-density increased from 149.84% at the end of January 2026 to 150.68% at the end of February 2026 and rural tele-density also increased from 59.83% to 60.02% during the same period. The share of urban and rural subscribers in total number of telephone subscribers at the end of February 2026 were 58.55% and 41.45% 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 February 2026 is as below: Telephone subscriber base at the end of February 2026 (in million) S. No. Type of telephone connection No. of Total subscribers 1. Wireless Consumer SIM 1,138.82 1,273.31 2. M2M SIM 118.47 3. FWA 16.02 4. Wireline 47.99 5. Total 1,321.31 The following table provides a summary information on wireless (mobile) telephone subscriber base at the end of February 2026: S. No. Item No. of subscribers 1. No. of Wireless (mobile) connections including M2M 1257.29 cellular mobile connections * 2. No. of Wireless (mobile) connections excluding M2M 1138.82 cellular mobile connections * Wireless (mobile) connections = Consumer SIM + M2M SIM Overall Tele-density (LSA Wise) – At the end of February 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 February 2026. Delhi LSA has the maximum tele-density of 360.24% and the Bihar LSA has the minimum tele-density of 63.13% at the end of February 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 published in July 2020. 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. V. Category-wise Growth in subscriber base Circle Category-wise Net Additions in Telephone Subscribers in the Monthof February 2026 Circle Net additions in the month of Telephone Subscriber base at the end of February 2026 February 2026 Category Wireline Wireless* Wireline Wireless* segment segment segment segment Circle A 199,365 2,013,324 20,445,621 426,617,715 Circle B 70,449 2,552,926 11,753,114 495,971,264 Circle C 66,905 1,993,125 3,638,627 211,275,926 Metro -1,274 411,434 12,156,924 139,446,164 All India 335,445 6,970,809 47,994,286 1,273,311,069 Circle Category-wise Monthly and Yearly Growth Rates in Telephone Subscribers in the Month of February 2026 Circle Monthly growth rate (%) (January Yearly growth rate (%) (February 2025 Category 2026 to February 2026) to February 2026) Wireline Wireless* Segment Wireline Wireless* Segment Segment Segment Circle A 0.98% 0.47% 40.94% 8.04% Circle B 0.60% 0.52% 15.95% 4.83% Circle C 1.87% 0.95% 24.21% 8.79% Metro -0.01% 0.30% 30.25% 5.67% All India 0.70% 0.55% 30.05% 6.63% * 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 February 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 February 2026, on a monthly basis, all circles except Metro have registered a growth in their subscribers. On a yearly basis, all circles have registered a growth in their wireline subscriber bases. VII. Active Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers (VLR Data) Out of the total 1257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1177.60 million wireless (mobile) subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in the month of February 2026. The proportion of active wireless (mobile) subscribers was approximately 93.66% 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 February 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 February 2026 Bharti Airtel has the maximum proportion- 99.42% 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 February 2026. Service Area wise percentage of VLR Subscribers in the month of February 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 February 2026, about 14.47 million subscribers submitted their requests for MNP. Out of total requests, number of requests received from Zone-I & Zone-II were about 8.09 million and 6.38 million respectively. In MNP Zone-I (Northern and Western India), the highest number of requests have been received in UP(East) LSA (2.09 million) followed by U.P.(West) LSA (1.43 million). In MNP Zone-II (Southern and Eastern India), the highest number of requests have been received in Madhya Pradesh LSA (1.41 million) followed by Bihar LSA (1.32 million). Licensed Service Area Wise MNP Status (in million) Zone-I Zone–II Service Area Number of Porting Requests Service Area Number of Porting Requests in in the month of the month of January-26 February-26 January-26 February-26 Delhi 0.74 0.65 Andhra Pradesh 0.68 0.60 Gujarat 1.09 0.96 Assam 0.12 0.11Haryana 0.46 0.43 Bihar 1.44 1.32 Himachal 0.06 0.06 Karnataka 0.62 0.55 Pradesh Jammu & 0.07 0.07 Kerala 0.25 0.21 Kashmir Maharashtra 1.07 0.97 Kolkata 0.20 0.18 Mumbai 0.27 0.25 Madhya 1.52 1.41 Pradesh Punjab 0.39 0.38 North East 0.03 0.03 Rajasthan 0.90 0.79 Odisha 0.25 0.22 U.P.(East) 2.33 2.09 Tamil Nadu 0.59 0.56 U.P.(West) 1.59 1.43 West Bengal 1.32 1.19 Total 8.97 8.09 Total 7.02 6.38 Total (Zone-I + Zone-II) 15.98 14.47 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 (Arun Agarwal) 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. 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 Jan-26 Feb-26 Jan-26 Feb-26 Jan-26 Feb-26 Service AreaAndhra 307,091 320,295 697,291 711,614 1,004,382 1,031,909 Pradesh Assam 69,755 75,909 194,045 198,870 263,800 274,779 Bihar 162,974 179,877 675,014 694,852 837,988 874,729 Delhi 162,498 172,406 229,492 230,045 391,990 402,451 Gujarat 187,572 200,188 440,982 447,825 628,554 648,013 Haryana 87,455 93,761 228,678 235,091 316,133 328,852 Himachal 16,551 17,967 77,368 79,259 93,919 97,226 Pradesh Jammu & 60,318 65,573 176,816 179,321 237,134 244,894 Kashmir Karnataka 286,498 303,113 415,141 421,364 701,639 724,477 Kerala 63,557 67,595 185,847 189,636 249,404 257,231 Kolkata 91,655 96,732 162,495 163,902 254,150 260,634 Madhya 151,026 163,684 558,875 573,333 709,901 737,017 Pradesh Maharashtra 286,745 306,404 618,023 627,224 904,768 933,628 Mumbai 106,945 112,622 108,029 109,622 214,974 222,244 North East 37,103 39,550 87,943 90,119 125,046 129,669 Odisha 76,941 82,347 300,789 309,420 377,730 391,767 Punjab 158,232 170,756 492,904 502,984 651,136 673,740 Rajasthan 198,995 216,058 462,803 472,615 661,798 688,673 Tamil Nadu 399,648 417,219 381,330 388,299 780,978 805,518Uttar 202,176 222,221 686,198 703,259 888,374 925,480 Pradesh (East) Uttar 153,936 165,957 528,312 541,636 682,248 707,593 Pradesh (West) West Bengal 91,766 98,910 459,229 472,145 550,995 571,055 TOTAL 3,359,437 3,589,144 8,167,604 8,342,435 11,527,041 11,931,579 Net 404,538 Addition 229,707 174,831 Monthly 6.84% 2.14% 3.51% Growth % Annexure-VI Fixed-Wireless (UBR) Subscribers Base UBR- Fixed Wireless Subscribers TSPs Name → Reliance Jio ↓Telecom Service Area Jan-26 Feb-26 Andhra Pradesh 317,471 334,154 Assam 32,210 34,095 Bihar 268,491 279,543 Delhi 268,957 282,343 Gujarat 268,256 279,451 Haryana 174,604 180,379 Himachal Pradesh 10,223 10,660 Jammu & Kashmir 75,584 77,705Karnataka 239,649 251,523 Kerala 9,456 9,897 Kolkata 172,406 181,892 Madhya Pradesh 231,866 241,754 Maharashtra 322,967 335,594 Mumbai 55,920 58,526 North East 13,570 14,341 Odisha 51,163 54,079 Punjab 229,817 238,728 Rajasthan 278,238 288,428 Tamil Nadu 165,797 173,472 Uttar Pradesh (East) 270,998 280,254 Uttar Pradesh (West) 342,087 354,486 West Bengal 119,490 124,782 TOTAL 3,919,220 4,086,086 Net Addition 166,866 Monthly Growth % 4.26% *Only Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has reported the information on the number of UBR FWA subscribers. **** NJ/RG (Release ID: 2247946) Visitor Counter : 187