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India added 6.57 million mobile subscribers in September 2026, taking the total mobile subscriber base to 1.3 billion, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel together accounting for more than 5.3 million additions during the month, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The data also highlighted that the number of wireless mobile subscribers increased from 1,293.43 million at the end of August to 1,300 million at the end of September, registering a monthly growth rate of 0.51 per cent. As per the data, Reliance Jio led wireless mobile subscriber additions in September 2026, adding 2.71 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 2.69 million. State-run BSNL added 6.26 lakh subscribers, while Vodafone Idea added 5.50 lakh. MTNL, meanwhile, lost 6,628 subscribers during the month. Overall, Indias telecom operators recorded net additions of around 6.57 million wireless mobile subscribers in September. The TRAI also shared that the Wireless (mobile) subscription in urban areas increased from 748.84 million at the end of August 2026 to 753.85 million at the end of September 2026, and wireless (mobile) subscription in rural areas also increased from 544.58 million to 546.14 million during the same period. The broader wireless subscriber base, which includes mobile connections and fixed wireless access services, rose 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 monthly growth rate in urban mobile subscriptions stood at 0.67 per cent, compared with 0.29 per cent in rural areas. India's total telephone subscriber base, including wireless and wireline connections, increased to 1,367.93 million in September from 1,360.70 million in August. The addition of 7.23 million subscribers translated into a monthly growth rate of 0.53 per cent. The data also showed that India's broadband subscriber base increased from 1,101.21 million in August to 1,107.68 million in September, registering monthly growth of 0.59 per cent. 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. (ANI)
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