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Reliance Jio added nearly 10 times more mobile subscribers than Bharti Airtel in September 2026, excluding machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, as it continued to lead subscriber additions in India's telecom sector, according to research reports by IIFL Capital and DAM Capital.
M2M mobile addition is a telecom metric that measures the net increase in cellular connections used exclusively by automated devices rather than human smartphones. Jio added around 19 lakh mobile subscribers during the month, compared with approximately 2 lakh additions by Airtel, while Vodafone Idea lost around 3 lakh subscribers, the reports showed. In its telecom sector research report titled India Telecom, IIFL Capital stated, "Excluding M2M, JIO added 1.9mn subs in September, similar to August." The report added, "Bharti's net adds of 0.2mn were the lowest in recent months," highlighting a slowdown in Airtel's monthly subscriber additions. Similarly, DAM Capital, in its telecom sector event update based on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) September subscriber data, noted that Jio accounted for the larger share of new consumer mobile connections. "India total wireless subscribers (excluding M2M connections) increased by 2.2 Mn MoM with Jio taking the higher share," the DAM Capital report stated. India's mobile subscriber base, excluding M2M connections, increased by 22 lakh month-on-month to approximately 115.5 crore in September. BSNL and other operators together added around 5 lakh subscribers during the month. Jio also led additions in the core active mobile subscriber base, according to calculations by DAM Capital. The brokerage estimated that Jio added 13 lakh core Visitor Location Register (VLR) subscribers, calculated after excluding M2M connections, while Airtel and Vodafone Idea recorded declines of around 2 lakh and 3 lakh subscribers, respectively. However, IIFL Capital noted that the inclusion of M2M connections in reported VLR figures makes it difficult to accurately assess underlying active subscriber additions. Beyond mobile services, Jio maintained its lead in the home broadband segment, adding approximately 4.2 lakh connections in September, compared with around 1.6 lakh additions by Airtel. "JIO added 0.42mn fixed BB subs in September, split as 0.11mn FTTH, 0.09mn 5G FWA, and 0.22mn UBR FWA," IIFL Capital stated. With these additions, Jio's home broadband subscriber base reached approximately 3 crore, nearly double Airtel's 1.56 crore. Jio also held approximately 79 per cent of India's fixed wireless access (FWA) subscriber market, with 1.51 crore connections at the end of September, according to IIFL Capital's analysis. While home broadband subscriber additions slowed for both operators compared with August, Jio continued to add more connections than Airtel. IIFL Capital reported that Jio's monthly fixed broadband additions declined from 5 lakh in August to 4.2 lakh in September, while Airtel's additions fell from 2.6 lakh to 1.6 lakh. The two brokerage reports, based on TRAI's September 2026 subscription data, highlighted Jio's lead in consumer mobile and home broadband additions, even as the pace of new broadband connections moderated across the industry. (ANI)
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