India’s Telecom Subscriber Base Rises to 1.348 Billion
as Mobile Data Usage Surges 8.3%
·
Telecom subscriber growth: India’s
total telephone subscriber base increased 1.31% quarter-on-quarter to 1,348.08
million at the end of June 2026, while overall tele-density reached 94.31%.
·
Internet subscribers cross 1.11 billion: The
internet subscriber base rose 1.96% to 1,114.17 million, including 1,087.50
million broadband subscribers and 26.67 million narrowband subscribers.
·
Mobile subscriptions expand: Wireless
mobile subscribers increased to 1,282.38 million, while the combined mobile and
fixed wireless access (FWA) subscriber base reached 1,300.25 million.
·
Mobile data consumption accelerates: Wireless
mobile data usage grew 8.30% quarter-on-quarter to 84,424 petabytes. Average
monthly data consumption per subscriber increased 6.32% to 28.39 GB.
·
Telecom revenues strengthen: The sector
recorded gross revenue of ₹1,06,797 crore, adjusted gross revenue (AGR)
of ₹88,796 crore and applicable gross revenue of ₹1,01,036 crore
during the quarter. Year-on-year AGR growth stood at 9.19%.
·
Average mobile revenue rises: Monthly
average revenue per wireless user (ARPU) increased 1.19% quarter-on-quarter to
₹187.12, while average revenue realization per GB of data declined 5.07%
to ₹7.13.
·
Rural connectivity improves: Rural
telephone subscriptions increased to 556.01 million, with rural tele-density
rising to 60.89%. However, the rural share of total telephone subscriptions
edged down to 41.24%.
·
Private operators dominate: Private
operators accounted for 92.50% of total telephone subscribers and 92.83% of
wireless subscribers.
·
Broadcasting sector trends: Pay DTH
active subscribers declined to 48.56 million. India had 915 permitted private
satellite TV channels, 386 operational private FM radio channels across 121
cities, and 578 operational community radio stations.
·
Quality of service: TRAI reported full compliance by
all relevant service providers with specified quality-of-service benchmarks
across the listed wireline, wireless access and broadband parameters.
The figures are drawn from TRAI’s Indian Telecom Services Performance
Indicator Report for April–June 2026, released on 12 October 2026.
[ABS News Service/13.10.2026]
TRAI on 12
October, 2026 has released the “Indian Telecom Services Performance
Indicator Report” for the quarter ending 30th June 2026. This
Report provides a broad perspective of the Telecom Services in India and
presents the key parameters and growth trends of the Telecom Services as well
as Cable TV, DTH & Radio Broadcasting services in India for the period
covering 1st April 2026 to 30th June 2026 compiled mainly
on the basis of information furnished by the Service Providers.
Executive
Summary of the Report is enclosed. The complete Report is available on TRAI’s
website (www.trai.gov.in and under the
link http://www.trai.gov.in/release-publication/reports/performance-indicators-reports). For any
suggestion or any clarification pertaining to this report, Shri Vijay Kumar,
Advisor (F&EA), TRAI may be contacted on Tel. +91-20907773 and
e-mail: fea1-div@trai.gov.in.
The Indian
Telecom Services Performance Indicators
April–June
2026
Executive
Summary
1.
Total number of Internet subscribers increased from
1092.79 million at the end of March 2026 to 1114.17 million at the end of June
2026, registering a quarterly rate of growth of 96%. Out of 1114.17 million
Internet subscribers, number of Wired Internet subscribers are 47.73 million
and number of Wireless Internet subscribers are 1066.43 million.
Composition of
Internet Subscription
2.
The Internet subscriber base is comprised of
Broadband Internet subscriber base of 1087.50 million and Narrowband Internet
subscriber base of 26.67 million.
3.
The broadband Internet subscriber base increased by
2.03% from 1065.88 million at the end of March 2026 to 1087.50 million at the
end of June 2026. The narrowband Internet subscriber base decreased by 0.89%
from 26.91 million at the end of March 2026 to 26.67 million at the end of June
2026.
4.
Wireline subscribers decreased from 48.25 million
at the end of March 2026 to 47.82 million at the end of June 2026 with a
quarterly rate of decline 0.88%. On Y-O-Y basis, wireline subscriptions
increased by 0.71% at the end of quarter ending June 2026.
5.
Wireline Tele-density decreased from 3.38% at the
end of March 2026 to 3.35% at the end of June 2026 with quarterly rate of
decline 1.06%.
6.
Monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for wireless service increased by 1.19%, from
₹184.91 in quarter ending March 2026 to ₹187.12 in quarter ending
June 2026. On Y-O-Y basis, monthly ARPU for wireless service increased by 3.11%
in this quarter.
7.
The ARPU per month for the pre-paid segment is
₹200.72 and the ARPU per month for the post-paid segment is ₹114.26
for quarter ending June 2026.
8.
On an all-India average, the overall MOU per month
decreased by 2.65% from 959 in quarter ending March 2026 to 933 in quarter
ending June 2026.
9.
Prepaid MOU per subscriber is 1055 and Postpaid MOU
per subscriber per month is 279 in quarter ending June 2026.
10. Average
revenue realization per GB for wireless data usage decreased from ₹7.51
in quarter ending March 2026 to ₹7.13 in quarter ending June 2026 with
quarterly rate of decline of 5.07%.
11. Number of
wireless (Mobile) data subscribers has increased from 1026.75 million at the
end of March 2026 to 1045.55 million at the end of June 2026 with quarterly
rate of growth of 1.86%. Further, total volume of wireless (mobile) data
usage also increased from 77,953 PB during quarter ending March 2026 to 84,424
PB during quarter ending June 2026 with growth of 8.30%.
12. Average
Wireless (Mobile) Data Usage per wireless data subscriber per month increased
from 26.70 GB during quarter ending March 2026 to 28.39 GB during June 2026
with quarterly rate of growth 6.32%.
13. Gross Revenue
(GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) and Adjusted
Gross Revenue (AGR) of Telecom Service Sector for the quarter ending June 2026
has been ₹1,06,797 Crore, ₹101,036 crore and ₹88,796 Crore
respectively. GR increased by 1.60%, ApGR by
2.43% and AGR increased by 2.40% in the quarter ending June 2025, as compared
to previous quarter.
14. The Y-O-Y rate
of growth in GR, ApGR and AGR in the quarter ending
June 2026 over the same quarter in last year have been 10.50%, 9.52% and 9.19%
respectively.
15. Pass Through
Charges decreased from ₹12,494 Crore in the quarter ending March 2026 to
₹12,241 Crore in the quarter ending June 2026 with quarterly rate of
decline of 2.02%. The Y-O-Y rate of growth 17.06% has been recorded in
pass-through charges in the quarter ending June 2026.
16. The License
Fee increased from ₹6,936 Crore in the quarter ending March 2026 to
₹7,103 Crore in the quarter ending June 2026. The quarterly and the Y-O-Y
rates of growth in license fees are 2.41% and 9.18% respectively in this
quarter.
Service-wise
composition of Adjusted Gross Revenue
17. Access
services contributed 83.85% of the total Adjusted Gross Revenue of telecom
services. In Access services, Gross Revenue (GR), Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR), Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), License Fee, Spectrum
Usage Charges (SUC) and Pass Through Charges increased by 1.43%, 2.86%, 2.72%,
2.73%, 2.83% and -8.83% respectively in the quarter ending June 2026.
18. The number of
total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,330.58 million at the end
of March 2026 to 1,348.08 million at the end of June 2026, registering a rate
of growth 1.31% over the previous quarter. This reflects Year-On-Year (Y-O-Y)
rate of growth of 10.65% over the same quarter of last year. The overall
Tele-density in India increased from 93.26% in the quarter ending March 2026 to
94.31% in the quarter ending June 2026.
Trends in
Telephone subscribers and Tele-density in India
19. Telephone
subscribers in Urban areas increased from 778.79 million at the end of March
2026 to 792.06 million at the end of June 2026 and Urban Tele-density also
increased from 151.47% to 153.43% during the same period.
20. Rural
telephone numbers reached 551.79 million at the end of March 2026 to 556.01
million at the end of June 2026 and Rural Tele-density also increased from
60.46% to 60.89% during the same period.
21. Out of the
total subscription, the share of Rural subscription decreased from 41.47% at
the end of March 2026 to 41.24% at the end of June 2026.
Composition of
Telephone Subscribers
22. With a net
addition of 17.92 million subscribers during the quarter, the total wireless (mobile+FWA) subscriber base increased from 1282.33 million
at the end of March 2026 to 1300.25 million at the end of June 2026,
registering a rate of growth 1.40% over the previous quarter.
On Y-O-Y basis, wireless subscriptions increased at the
rate of 11.05% during the year.
23. Wireless
(mobile + FWA) Tele-density increased from 89.88% at the end of March 2026 to
90.96% at the end of June 2026 with quarterly rate of growth 1.21%.
24. With a net
addition of 16.66 million subscribers during the quarter, the wireless (mobile)
subscriber base increased from 1265.73 million at the end of March 2026 to
1282.38 million at the end of June 2026, registering a rate of growth 1.32%
over the previous quarter. On Y-O-Y basis, wireless subscriptions also
increased at the rate of 10.26% during the year.
25. Wireless
(mobile) Tele-density increased from 88.71% at the end of March 2026 to 89.71%
at the end of June 2026 with quarterly rate of growth of 1.13%.
26. During this
quarter, the following parameters in terms of QoS benchmarks have been fully
complied with by all wireline service providers in all the LSAs: -
|
S. No. |
Parameter |
Benchmark |
|
1 |
Fault incidences (No. of faults per 100
subscribers) |
≤ 5 |
|
2 |
Fault repair by next working day |
≥ 85% |
|
3 |
Fault repair within three working days |
≥ 99% |
|
4 |
Mean Time-To-Repair (MTTR) |
≤ 10 hours |
|
5 |
Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (90th
percentile value) |
≤ 0.5% |
|
6 |
Billing and charging complaints |
≤ 0.1% |
|
7 |
Resolution of billing/ charging complaints within
four weeks |
100% |
|
8 |
Application of adjustment to customer’s account
within one week from the date of resolution of billing and charging
complaints or rectification of faults or rectification of significant network
outage, as applicable |
100% |
|
9 |
Accessibility of call centre/ customer care |
≥ 95% |
|
10 |
Percentage of calls answered by the operators
(voice to voice) within 90 seconds |
≥ 95% |
|
11 |
Termination/ closure of service within seven
working days of receipt of customer’s request |
100% |
27. During this
quarter, list of QoS parameters which are fully complied with by all the Access
Service (Wireless) providers in all the LSAs: -
|
S. No. |
Parameter |
Benchmark |
|
1 |
Availability of service wise geospatial coverage
map on service provider’s website for percentage of working cells |
≥ 99% |
|
2 |
Cumulative downtime (Cells not available for
service) |
≤ 1.5 % |
|
3 |
Worst Affected Cells due to downtime |
≤ 1.5 % |
|
4 |
Percentage of significant network outage
(services not available in a district for more than 4 hours) reported to the
Authority within 24 hrs of start of the outage |
100% |
|
5 |
Call Set-up Success Rate: Intra- Service provider
(within service provider’s network) |
≥ 98% |
|
6 |
Call Set-up Success Rate: Inter- Service provider
(incoming from other service providers' network) |
≥ 95% |
|
7 |
Point of Interconnection (POI) Congestion (90th
percentile value) |
≤ 0.5% |
|
8 |
DCR Spatial Distribution Measure for Circuit
Switched (2G/3G) network [CS_QSD (88, 88)] |
≤ 2% |
|
9 |
DCR Spatial Distribution Measure for Packet
Switched (4G/5G and beyond) network [PS_QSD (93, 93)] |
≤ 2% |
|
10 |
Downlink Packet Drop Rate for Packet Switched
Network (4G/5G and beyond) [DLPDR_QSD (88, 88)] |
≤ 2% |
|
11 |
Uplink Packet Drop Rate for Packet Switched
Network (4G/5G and beyond) [ULPDR_QSD (88, 88)] |
≤ 2% |
|
12 |
Latency (in 4G and 5G network) |
≤ 75 msec |
|
13 |
Packet Drop Rate (in 4G and 5G network) |
≤ 3% |
|
14 |
Percentile value of measured test samples for
which download and upload speed is ≥ offered typical download and
upload speed in tariff offerings |
80th percentile |
|
15 |
Billing and charging complaints |
≤ 0.1% |
|
16 |
Resolution of billing/ charging complaints within
four weeks |
100% |
|
17 |
Application of adjustment to customer’s account
within one week from the date of resolution of billing and charging
complaints or rectification of faults or rectification of significant network
outage, as applicable |
100% |
|
18 |
Accessibility of call centre/ customer care |
≥ 95% |
|
19 |
Percentage of calls answered by the operators
(voice to voice) within 90 seconds |
≥ 95% |
|
20 |
Termination/ closure of service within seven
working days of receipt of customer’s request |
100% |
|
21 |
Refund of deposits within 45 days of closure of
service or non-provisioning of service |
100% |
28.
List of QoS parameters which are fully complied
with by all the Broadband (Wireline) Service providers in all the service
areas: -
|
S. No. |
Parameter |
Benchmark |
|
1. |
Latency |
≤ 50 msec |
|
2. |
Packet Drop Rate |
≤ 1% |
|
3. |
Percentile value of measured test samples for
which download and upload speed is ≥ offered typical download and
upload speed in tariff offerings |
90th percentile |
|
4. |
Jitter |
≤ 40ms |
|
5. |
Fault incidences (No. of faults per 100
subscribers) |
≤ 5 |
|
6. |
Fault repair by next working day |
≥ 85% |
|
7. |
Fault repair within three working days |
≥ 99% |
|
8. |
Billing and charging complaints |
≤ 0.1% |
|
9. |
Resolution of billing/ charging complaints within
four weeks |
100% |
|
10 |
Accessibility of call centre/ customer care |
≥ 95% |
29. A total of 915
private satellite TV channels has been permitted by the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting (MIB) for uplinking only/downlinking
only/both uplinking & downlinking.
30. As per the
reporting done by broadcasters, out of 906 permitted satellite TV channels that
are available for downlinking in India, there are 342 TV channels are declared
as pay TV channels as on 30th, June. Out of 342 pay channels, 238
are SD TV channels and 104 are HD TV channels. Apart from these pay
channels reported to TRAI, remaining 566 channels, permitted by MIB, are
considered as Free-to-Air (FTA) channels.
31. There are 4
pay DTH operators providing DTH broadcasting services in India. As per the data
reported by these pay DTH operators to TRAI, pay DTH services have a total
active subscriber base of 48.56 million as on 30th June 2026. This
is in addition to the subscribers of the DD Free Dish (free DTH services of
Prasar Bharati). The total active subscriber base of pay DTH services has
declined from 49.09 million in the quarter ending March 2026 to 48.56 million
in the quarter ending June 2026.
32. As per the
data reported by FM Radio operators to TRAI, as on 31st March 2026,
there were 390 operational private FM radio channels across 120 cities,
operated by 31 private FM radio operators. During the quarter ending 30th
June 2026, the permissions of five channels have been surrendered w.e.f.
14.06.2026. Further, M/s HT Media Ltd has started operation of one new channel
in a new city (Moradabad) w.e.f. 19.04.2026. Therefore, as on 30th
June 2026, there are 386 operational private FM radio channels across 121
cities, operated by 30 private FM radio operators.
33. The
advertisement revenue reported by FM Radio operators during the quarter ending
30th June 2026 in respect of 391 private FM Radio channels is Rs 376.16 crore
as against Rs 414.03 crore in respect of 390 private FM Radio channels for the
previous quarter i.e. 31st March 2026.
34. As on 30th
June, 2026, 578 Community Radio stations are operational.
SNAPSHOT
|
(Data as on Quarter ending 30th June
2026) |
|
|
Telecom Subscribers (Wireless+Wireline) |
|
|
Total Subscribers |
1,348.08 million |
|
% change over the previous quarter |
1.31% |
|
Urban Subscribers |
792.06 million |
|
Rural Subscribers |
556.01 million |
|
Market share of Private Operators |
92.50% |
|
Market share of PSU Operators |
7.50% |
|
Tele-density |
94.31% |
|
Urban Tele-density |
153.43% |
|
Rural Tele-density |
60.89% |
|
Tele-density (without M2M cellular mobile) |
84.88% |
|
Wireless Subscribers |
|
|
Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers |
1,282.38 million |
|
Wireless (Mobile) Subscribers (excluding M2M) |
1147.65 million |
|
Wireless (FWA) Subscribers |
17.87 million |
|
Total Wireless (Mobile + FWA) Subscribers |
1,300.25 million |
|
% change over the previous quarter |
1.40% |
|
Urban Subscribers |
749.39 million |
|
Rural Subscribers |
550.86 million |
|
Market share of Private Operators |
92.83% |
|
Market share of PSU Operators |
7.17% |
|
Tele-density |
90.96% |
|
Urban Tele-density |
145.17% |
|
Rural Tele-density |
60.32% |
|
Tele-density without M2M cellular mobile
connection |
81.54% |
|
Total Wireless (Mobile) Data Usage during the
quarter |
84,424 PB |
|
Total Wireline (Wired) Access Data Usage
during the quarter |
54,303 PB |
|
Number of Public Mobile Radio Trunk Services
(PMRTS) |
65,686 |
|
Number of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) |
1,84,579 |
|
Wireline Subscribers |
|
|
Total Wireline Subscribers |
47.82 million |
|
% change over the previous quarter |
-0.88% |
|
Urban Subscribers |
42.68 million |
|
Rural Subscribers |
5.15 million |
|
Market share of PSU Operators |
16.59% |
|
Market share of Private Operators |
83.41% |
|
Tele-density |
3.35% |
|
Rural Tele-density |
0.56% |
|
Urban Tele-density |
8.27% |
|
No. of Public Call Office (PCO) |
4,843 |
|
Telecom Financial Data |
|
|
Gross Revenue (GR) during the quarter |
₹1,06,797 crore |
|
% change in GR over the previous quarter |
1.60% |
|
Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR)
during quarter |
₹1,01,036 crore |
|
% change in ApGR over
the previous quarter |
2.43% |
|
Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) during the quarter |
₹88,796 crore |
|
% change in AGR over the previous quarter |
2.40% |
|
Share of Public sector undertakings in Access AGR |
2.92% |
|
Internet/Broadband Subscribers |
|
|
Total Internet Subscribers |
1,114.17 million |
|
% change over previous quarter |
1.96% |
|
Narrowband subscribers |
26.67 million |
|
Broadband subscribers |
1087.50 million |
|
Fixed (Wired) Access Internet Subscribers |
47.73 million |
|
Wireless (Fixed+Mobile)
Access Internet Subscribers |
1066.43 million |
|
Urban Internet Subscribers |
666.09 million |
|
Rural Internet Subscribers |
448.08 million |
|
Total Internet Subscribers per 100 population |
77.94 |
|
Urban Internet Subscribers per 100 population |
129.03 |
|
Rural Internet Subscribers per 100 population |
49.07 |
|
Total Outgoing Minutes of Usage for Internet
Telephony |
73.97 million |
|
No. of Public Wi-Fi Hotspots |
55,233 |
|
Aggregate Data Consumed (TB) for Wi-Fi Hotspots |
7,541 |
|
Broadcasting & Cable Services |
|
|
Number of pay Broadcaster |
37 |
|
Number of private satellite TV channels permitted
by the Ministry of I&B for uplinking
only/downlinking only/both uplinking and
downlinking |
915 |
|
Number of pay TV Channels as reported by
broadcasters |
342 |
|
Number of licensed pay
DTH Operators |
4 |
|
Number of total active subscribers with pay DTH
operators |
48.56 million |
|
Number of registered MSOs |
736 |
|
Number of HITS operators |
2 |
|
Number of IPTV Operators that submitted
self-declaration to MIB |
76 |
|
Number of FM Radio Channels (excluding All India
Radio) |
386 |
|
Number of existing cities with operational FM
Radio channels (excluding All India Radio) |
121 |
|
FM Radio Advertisement Revenue during the
quarter |
₹376.16 crore |
|
Number of Operational Community Radio Stations |
578 |
|
Revenue & Usage Parameters |
|
|
Monthly ARPU of Wireless Service |
₹187.12 |
|
Minutes of Usage (MOU) per subscriber per month -
Wireless Service |
933 |
|
Wireless Data Usage |
|
|
Average Wireless Data Usage per wireless data
subscriber per month |
28.39 GB |
|
Average revenue realization per GB for wireless
data usage during the quarter |
₹7.13 |