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India's wireless (mobile) subscriber base expanded in December 2025, but subscriber movement remained sharply uneven across operators, with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel emerging as the major gainers, while Vodafone Idea Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) continued to report net losses, according to operator-wise data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
TRAI's month-on-month data showed that Bharti Airtel added 5.42 million subscribers. Reliance Jio added approximately 2.96 million wireless subscribers during the month. The gains for both of them were largely spread across multiple licensed service areas. In contrast, Vodafone Idea recorded a net loss of around 9.4 lakh wireless subscribers in December, continuing a trend of subscriber erosion seen over previous months. State-owned BSNL also reported a decline of about 2.06 lakh wireless subscribers during the month. Despite marginal gains in a few circles, the PSU operator's overall wireless base continued to contract, according to the data. Compiling all operators, the net wireless (mobile) subscriber base additions were 7.23 million during December. India's overall total telephone subscriber base, wireless and wireline, increased to 1,306 billion as of December 2025, registering a monthly growth rate of 0.66 per cent, according to data released by the telecom regulator. The expansion was largely driven by the wireless segment, which continued to add the bulk of new users during the month, according to the data. The number of wireless subscribers, including mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA), rose to 1.258 billion, recording a net addition of 8.21 million subscribers in December. Wireless tele-density improved to 88.41 per cent, with a sharp contrast between urban tele-density at 140.66 per cent and rural tele-density at 59.07 per cent, according to TRAI data. The wireline segment also posted modest growth during the month. Wireline subscribers increased from 47.05 million in November to 47.37 million in December 2025, marking a monthly growth rate of 0.68 per cent. Urban areas continued to dominate the segment, while rural wireline tele-density remained low, according to the regulator data. In the broadband segment, total subscribers crossed the one-billion mark, reaching 1,007.35 million at the end of December. Mobile wireless broadband remained the dominant access mode. In fixed wireless access, 5G FWA subscribers grew by 5.59 per cent month over month, underscoring the gradual uptake of next-generation broadband services nationwide. The TRAI report also pointed to sustained churn in the mobile market. In December 2025, approximately 16.12 million subscribers submitted Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests. (ANI)
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