India's telecom subscriber base rises to 1.348 billion in June; wireline users decline
New Delhi, July 28
India's total telephone subscriber base increased by 4.98 million to 1,348.08 million at the end of June 2026, supported by growth in wireless connections, while the wireline segment continued to contract, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
The wireless subscriber base, including mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA), increased by 5.79 million during June to 1,300.25 million, registering a monthly growth rate of 0.45 per cent. In contrast, the wireline subscriber base declined by 0.81 million to 47.82 million, marking a monthly contraction of 1.67 per cent.
Within wireless services, mobile subscribers rose by 5.38 million to 1,282.38 million, with the segment recording a monthly growth rate of 0.42 per cent. Urban mobile subscriptions increased to 739.43 million, while rural subscriptions rose to 542.95 million.
The broader wireless segment also benefited from an increase in FWA connections. The number of wireless FWA subscribers rose from 17.97 million in May to 18.36 million in June, while 5G FWA subscribers increased from 12.73 million to 12.94 million.
Broadband subscriptions continued to expand, rising from 1,080.15 million in May to 1,087.50 million in June, a monthly growth of 0.68 per cent. Fixed wired broadband subscribers grew 0.67 per cent to 47.71 million, while wireless broadband subscribers increased 0.65 per cent to 1,021.43 million.
Meanwhile, the decline in wireline connections was led by several service providers. TRAI data showed Bharti Airtel added 173,667 wireline subscribers and Reliance Jio added 144,057, but these gains were outweighed by declines at BSNL, APSFL, Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices and other providers. The overall wireline base fell by 810,894 connections during the month.
The number of M2M cellular mobile connections also increased, rising from 131.11 million in May to 134.73 million in June, indicating continued expansion in machine-to-machine connectivity.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Really happy to see broadband subscriptions crossing 1 billion! Finally rural India is getting connected. My village in Tamil Nadu now has decent 4G, though fiber still hasn't reached. Baby steps but progress is progress! 🇮🇳
Interesting data point about M2M connections growing to 134 million. With the push for smart cities and IoT in agriculture, this is going to explode. India's digital backbone is strengthening, but we need better spectrum allocation policies to sustain this.
5G FWA subscriptions growing from 12.73 million to 12.94 million - that's decent but should be faster given all the hype. The real challenge is last-mile connectivity in tier-2 and tier-3 cities where fiber is still a dream. Jio and Airtel need to invest more in fiber infrastructure instead of just mobile towers.
Wireline decline of 0.81 million is concerning. In my building in Delhi, we still prefer wired broadband for stable work-from-home connections. Mobile data is great but for video calls and large file transfers, wired is still king. Hope the trend reverses soon.
Total subscriber base of 1.348 billion - that's almost the entire population! We've truly democratized connectivity. But the quality of service in many areas still needs improvement. Dropped calls and slow speeds are still common. TRAI needs to be more strict on QoS norms. 📞
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