Jio, Airtel add over 5.3 million mobile users in September as India’s subscriber base crosses 1.3 billion
India’s mobile subscriber base crossed 1.3 billion in September 2026, after telecom operators added a net 6.57 million wireless mobile subscribers during the month, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel led the additions, together gaining more than 5.3 million mobile subscribers in September.
The number of wireless mobile subscribers rose from 1,293.43 million at the end of August to 1,300 million by the end of September, marking a monthly growth rate of 0.51%.
Reliance Jio recorded the highest number of net wireless mobile subscriber additions in September, gaining 2.71 million users. Bharti Airtel followed closely, adding 2.69 million subscribers during the month.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added 626,000 subscribers, while Vodafone Idea gained 550,000 users. In contrast, MTNL lost 6,628 subscribers during the period.
Overall, telecom operators recorded net additions of approximately 6.57 million wireless mobile subscribers in September.
TRAI data showed that mobile subscriptions increased in both urban and rural areas during September.
The number of wireless mobile subscribers in urban areas rose from 748.84 million at the end of August to 753.85 million at the end of September. Rural mobile subscriptions increased from 544.58 million to 546.14 million over the same period.
Urban areas recorded a monthly growth rate of 0.67%, significantly higher than the 0.29% growth reported in rural areas.
India’s broader wireless subscriber base, which includes mobile connections and fixed wireless access services, increased to 1,319.19 million in September from 1,312.25 million in August. This represented a net addition of 6.94 million subscribers during the month.
The country’s total telephone subscriber base, including both wireless and wireline connections, also grew. It rose from 1,360.70 million in August to 1,367.93 million in September, adding 7.23 million subscribers. The monthly growth rate stood at 0.53%.
India’s broadband subscriber base continued to expand in September, increasing from 1,101.21 million in August to 1,107.68 million.
The addition of 6.47 million broadband subscribers during the month represented a monthly growth rate of 0.59%, according to TRAI data.
Meanwhile, 16.77 million subscribers submitted requests for mobile number portability (MNP) during September, indicating the number of subscribers seeking to change their mobile service providers while retaining their existing numbers.
The number of active wireless mobile subscribers stood at 1,212.80 million in September, according to the data.
The TRAI also highlighted that the overall tele-density in India increased from 95.07 per cent at the end of August 2026 to 95.52 per cent at the end of September 2026.
The urban tele-density increased from 155 per cent at the end of August 2026 to 155.85 per cent at the end of September 2026, and rural tele-density also increased from 61.12 per cent to 61.30 per cent during the same period.
The share of urban and rural subscribers in the total number of telephone subscribers at the end of September 2026 was 59.05 per cent and 40.95 per cent, respectively.
The number of wireline subscribers increased from 48.45 million at the end of August 2026 to 48.74 million at the end of September 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.29 million, with a monthly growth rate of 0.60 per cent.
(With inputs from news agency ANI)
For about a decade, Livemint—News Desk has been a credible source for authentic and timely news, and well-researched analysis on national news, business, personal finance, corporates, politics and geopolitics. We bring the latest updates on all the listed companies on BSE and NSE, startups, mutual funds, Union ministries, geopolitics, and untapped human interest stories from around the world, helping our readers to stay informed on the latest developments around the globe. Our Coverage Areas 1. Companies: Comprehensive news and analysis on listed and unlisted companies, corporate announcements, corporate chatter, C-suite, business trends, hiring alerts, layoffs, work-life balance, world's top billionaires and richest and more. 2. Personal finance: Insights into mutual funds, small savings schemes like - PPF, SSY, post office savings scheme, stock to watch, personal loans, credit cards, top bank FDs, real estate, income tax and more. 3. Politics: Comprehensive coverage of general elections, state elections and bypolls, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Parliament, PMO, PIB, finance ministry, home ministry, among other union ministries and government departments. 4. National News: From metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and e to untapped stories from rural India, we cover human interest, health, education, crime and courts, and law and order, among other areas of public interest. 5. Economy: In-depth analysis of India's macro and micro-economic indicators like- GDP, inflation, forex, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, interest rate cycle, economic recovery, RBI circulars, indirect taxes, GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy imports, exports and everything that impacts Indian economy. 6. Geopolitics: Well-rounded and deeply researched coverage on US News, Oval Office European Union, Ukraine Russia War, middle-east crisis, royal families and global leaders like - Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping and premiers of other leading economies in the world. Meet the Team 1. Gulam Jeelani, Political Affairs Editor 2. Sugam Singhal, Senior Assistant Editor 3. Chanchal, Assistant Editor 4. Sanchari Ghosh, Chief Content Producer 5. Pratik Prashant Mukane, Chief Content Producer 6. Sayantani Biswas, Chief Content Producer 7. Ravi Hari, Deputy Chief Content Producer 8. Garvit Bhirani, Deputy Chief Content Producer 9. Akriti Anand, Senior Content Producer 10. Jocelyn Felix Fernandes, Senior Content Producer 11. Swastika Das Sharma, Content Producer 12. Mausam Jha, Content Producer 13. Riya R Alex, Trainee Content Producer
Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
✕
Wait for it…
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.