Jio and Airtel Add 5.3 Million Mobile Users in September as India Crosses 1.3 Billion Mark

27 Oct 2026, 11:21 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

New Delhi: Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel cornered the vast majority of new wireless subscriptions in September 2026, driving the country’s mobile user base to the 1.3 billion milestone, regulatory disclosures published Tuesday show.

According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), service providers registered a combined net gain of roughly 6.57 million cellular mobile users during the month. Over 80 percent of those additions came from the top two private carriers: Jio led the market by securing 2.71 million net subscribers, followed closely by Airtel with 2.69 million additions.

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) expanded its user roster by 6.26 lakh connections, while Vodafone Idea brought in 5.50 lakh net subscribers. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) went against the trend, seeing its mobile base contract by 6,628 accounts.

Across the wider telecom landscape, total telephone connections across India—a count combining mobile and fixed-line services—climbed by 7.23 million in September to reach 1,367.93 million, up from 1,360.70 million recorded at the close of August. The month-on-month growth rate was 0.53 per cent.

Urban areas continued to claim the dominant share of telecom access, making up 59.05 per cent of all telephone connections nationwide, while rural zones represented 40.95 per cent.

On the mobile front alone, the customer roll expanded 0.51 per cent month-on-month, rising from 1,293.43 million at the end of August to 1,300 million by late September. The sector’s active wireless count stood at 1,212.80 million during the reporting period.

If fixed wireless access services are factored in alongside standard mobile links, India’s broader wireless ecosystem grew by 6.94 million users during September, ending the month at 1,319.19 million compared with 1,312.25 million in August.

Geography underscored the divergence in adoption speeds:

Urban mobile subscriptions rose from 748.84 million in August to 753.85 million by the end of September, marking a 0.67 per cent monthly increase.
Rural mobile users grew at a more modest 0.29 per cent clip, climbing from 544.58 million to 546.14 million over the same window.

That momentum also nudged overall tele-density upward from 95.07 per cent at August-end to 95.52 per cent by September-end. Urban tele-density advanced from 155 per cent to 155.85 per cent, whereas rural tele-density edged up from 61.12 per cent to 61.30 per cent.

Separately, broadband adoption sustained its upward trajectory, increasing 0.59 per cent to 1,107.68 million subscribers in September from 1,101.21 million in August.

Fixed-line wireline installations posted gains as well, adding 0.29 million connections to stand at 48.74 million by the close of September—up from 48.45 million in August, reflecting a monthly uptick of 0.60 per cent.

Subscriber movement across competing carriers remained pronounced. TRAI noted that 16.77 million mobile number portability (MNP) applications were logged in September, underscoring persistent churn as consumers switched service providers without surrendering their contact numbers.

(Source: ANI)