India’s Telecom Base Crosses 1.35 Billion as Broadband Connections Near 1.1 Billion

India’s telecommunications network continued to expand in July 2026, with the country adding more than six million telephone connections in a single month and broadband subscriptions moving closer to the 1.1-billion mark. The latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India shows simultaneous growth across mobile, fixed-line, fixed-wireless and machine-to-machine connectivity, reflecting the widening role of telecom infrastructure in both personal communications and India’s increasingly connected digital economy.

Total telephone subscriptions increased from 1,348.08 million at the end of June to 1,354.28 million at the end of July 2026, an addition of approximately 6.20 million connections in one month. This represented monthly growth of 0.46%. Wireless connections, including mobile and Fixed Wireless Access services, accounted for the overwhelming majority of the market, rising by 6.02 million to 1,306.27 million, while the wireline base increased by around 185,000 connections to 48.01 million.

The headline figure of 1.35 billion should, however, be understood as the number of telecom subscriptions rather than the number of individual Indians using telephones. The total incorporates multiple SIM ownership, machine-to-machine connections and fixed wireless services. TRAI’s breakdown shows that the July total included about 1,150.22 million consumer wireless SIMs, 137.70 million M2M SIMs, 18.35 million FWA connections and 48.01 million wireline subscriptions.

Broadband Base Moves Towards 1.1 Billion

One of the strongest indicators in the July data was continued expansion of broadband. India’s broadband subscriber base increased from 1,087.50 million in June to 1,094.48 million in July, adding nearly seven million connections and recording monthly growth of 0.64%. Even after excluding M2M cellular connections, India had 1,005.72 million broadband subscriptions, showing that conventional consumer and enterprise broadband connectivity has now crossed the one-billion mark.

Mobile wireless access remained by far the largest broadband segment, increasing from 1,021.43 million to 1,027.50 million. Fixed wired broadband, including fibre, DSL, Ethernet, cable modem and leased-line connections, increased from 47.71 million to 48.14 million. The fastest percentage growth came from fixed wireless broadband, which expanded from 18.36 million to 18.84 million, an increase of 2.60% in just one month.

The growth of fixed wireless access is particularly significant because it demonstrates how 5G networks are increasingly being used to provide home and enterprise broadband without requiring a physical fibre connection all the way to the premises. TRAI recorded 13.21 million 5G FWA subscribers at the end of July, up from 12.94 million a month earlier. Interestingly, rural 5G FWA connections, at 6.64 million, slightly exceeded the 6.56 million connections recorded in urban areas. This suggests that fixed wireless technology is developing into an important complement to fibre in areas where building conventional last-mile networks can be slower or more expensive.

Jio Leads Broadband, Airtel Tops July Mobile Additions

Reliance Jio remained India’s largest broadband service provider with 535.12 million broadband subscriptions, followed by Bharti Airtel with 384.23 million. Vodafone Idea had 129.96 million broadband subscribers, BSNL 27.28 million and Atria Convergence Technologies 2.47 million. Together, the five largest providers controlled 98.59% of India’s wired and wireless broadband market, underlining the high level of concentration in the sector.

Competition in the mobile market nevertheless remained intense during July. Bharti Airtel recorded the largest net mobile subscriber addition, gaining approximately 2.69 million connections, while Reliance Jio added about 2.45 million. Vodafone Idea added around 240,000 and BSNL approximately 169,000 connections. Only MTNL and the residual Reliance Communications base recorded declines. Airtel’s mobile subscriber base grew by 0.55% during the month compared with 0.49% for Jio, 0.18% for BSNL and 0.12% for Vodafone Idea.

Jio nevertheless retained the largest share of India’s wireless mobile market at 39.29%, followed closely by Airtel at 38.01%. Vodafone Idea accounted for 15.46%, while BSNL held 7.23%. Private telecom operators collectively controlled 92.75% of mobile subscriptions, compared with 7.25% for the public-sector operators BSNL and MTNL.

More Than 1.2 Billion Mobile Connections Active

The scale of actual network activity also remained high. Of the 1,287.92 million wireless mobile subscriptions reported for July, 1,204.01 million were active on the date of peak Visitor Location Register activity, equivalent to approximately 93.48% of the total mobile base. Airtel recorded the highest active-user ratio among the major operators, with 99.12% of its reported mobile connections active at peak VLR, followed by Jio at 98.82%, Vodafone Idea at 83.97% and BSNL at 55.02%.

The high active-user ratio is important because nominal SIM counts alone can overstate the number of connections regularly being used. VLR data provides a better indication of how much of the registered wireless subscriber base is actually connected to mobile networks during a particular reporting period.

Rural Connectivity Continues to Expand

India’s telecom expansion remained uneven between urban and rural markets, although both recorded growth during July. Total urban telephone subscriptions increased from 792.06 million to 796.68 million, while rural subscriptions rose from 556.01 million to 557.59 million. Urban connections therefore accounted for 58.83% of India’s telephone base, with rural India representing the remaining 41.17%.

Overall tele-density increased from 94.31 connections per 100 people in June to 94.68 in July. Urban tele-density reached 154.12%, compared with rural tele-density of 61.05%. A tele-density above 100% does not imply that every person has more than one telephone; it reflects multiple subscriptions held by individuals and businesses as well as other connections included in the telecom base. TRAI also reported significant regional differences, with the Delhi Licensed Service Area recording the country’s highest overall tele-density at 368.33%, while Bihar recorded the lowest at 64.19%.

M2M Connections Emerge as a Major Telecom Segment

Another notable development is the rapid expansion of India’s machine-to-machine communications market. M2M cellular connections increased from 134.73 million in June to 137.70 million in July, adding almost three million connections in one month. Such connections are increasingly used in applications ranging from connected vehicles and smart electricity meters to industrial equipment, logistics, security systems and Internet of Things devices.

Bharti Airtel dominated this segment with 84.45 million M2M connections, equivalent to 61.33% of the market. Reliance Jio accounted for 19.29%, Vodafone Idea 15.92% and BSNL 3.46%. The size of the M2M market is becoming increasingly important when interpreting India’s overall telecom numbers because automated devices now account for more than one in every ten mobile SIM connections recorded by the regulator.

Nearly 16 Million Number-Porting Requests in One Month

Competition between mobile operators was also visible in Mobile Number Portability activity. Approximately 15.98 million subscribers submitted porting requests during July 2026. Of these, 8.89 million requests came from the northern and western Zone-I and 7.09 million from southern and eastern Zone-II. UP East recorded the largest number of requests in Zone-I at 2.29 million, while Madhya Pradesh led Zone-II with approximately 1.52 million requests.

The scale of porting activity highlights the continuing willingness of Indian consumers to switch operators while retaining their numbers, putting pressure on telecom companies to compete on network quality, coverage, pricing and bundled digital services.

India’s Telecom Expansion Is Moving Beyond the Mobile Phone

The July numbers show that the next stage of India’s telecom expansion is becoming broader than simply adding conventional mobile subscribers. Consumer SIM connections are still increasing, but some of the fastest growth is emerging in broadband, 5G fixed wireless access and M2M connectivity. Fixed wireless broadband grew considerably faster than the overall broadband market during July, while M2M connections added nearly three million subscriptions in a single month.

With more than 1.35 billion total telephone subscriptions, over 1.09 billion broadband connections and more than 1.2 billion active mobile connections, India’s telecom infrastructure has reached a scale at which future growth will increasingly be measured not merely by the number of SIM cards but by the quality, capacity and diversity of connections. The expansion of fibre, 5G FWA, rural broadband and machine connectivity suggests that India’s telecom network is gradually evolving from a predominantly mobile-communications system into the underlying connectivity infrastructure for a much larger digital economy.

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