Airtel Emerges Top Wireless Gainer in May 2026; Jio Crosses 500 Million Mobile Users: TRAI
The number of wireless (mobile) subscribers rose from 1,271.90 million to 1,277.00 million during the same period, reflecting a growth rate of 0.40 percent.
Indian telecom service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) recorded gains in wireless subscribers during May 2026, while state-owned operators BSNL and MTNL reported subscriber losses, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) Telecom Subscription Data for May 2026, released on June 25, 2026. The data show that the total number of wireless (mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) subscribers increased from 1,288.96 million at the end of April 2026 to 1,294.46 million at the end of May 2026, registering a monthly growth rate of 0.43 percent. Likewise, the number of wireless (mobile) subscribers rose from 1,271.90 million to 1,277.00 million during the same period, reflecting a growth rate of 0.40 percent. Wireless tele-density in India increased from 90.28 percent to 90.61 percent. (M2M cellular mobile connections have also been included.)
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FWA Subscribers — 5G and UBR Breakdown
Total wireless 5G FWA subscribers increased from 12.55 million at the end of April 2026 to 12.73 million at the end of May 2026, with 6.35 million (49.84 percent) in urban areas and 6.39 million (50.16 percent) in rural areas.
As of May 2026, Bharti Airtel reported a 5G FWA subscriber base of 3,764,262 (an addition of 7,773), while Reliance Jio reported 8,968,567 (an addition of 174,817) 5G FWA users, bringing the total to 12,732,829.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, the only operator reporting UBR FWA subscribers, increased its UBR FWA base from 4,505,055 at the end of April 2026 to 4,732,703 at the end of May 2026, adding 227,648 users.
“The number of total wireless FWA subscribers using UBR technology (UBR FWA) stood at 4.73 million at the end of May 2026 with subscriptions in urban and rural areas of 3.38 million and 1.36 million respectively. The shares of urban and rural wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers in total wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers were 71.35 percent and 28.65 percent respectively, at the end of May 2026.”
Gain and Loss of Wireless Subscribers
Bharti Airtel added 2,926,907 wireless (mobile) subscribers during May 2026, while Reliance Jio added 2,154,468 subscribers. Vodafone Idea added 121,289 subscribers during the month. BSNL, however, lost 104,660 wireless (mobile) subscribers, while MTNL lost 3,803 subscribers. Overall, the wireless (mobile) subscriber base increased by 5.09 million subscribers during the month.
All Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) except Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Mumbai, and Haryana showed growth in wireless (mobile) subscribers during May 2026.
Wireless Market Share of Operators
As of the end of May 2026, private access service providers held 92.71 percent of the wireless (mobile) market, while BSNL and MTNL accounted for 7.29 percent.
This translates to Reliance Jio holding a 39.27 percent market share with 501.44 million wireless subscribers; Bharti Airtel with a 37.89 percent market share and 483.81 million wireless subscribers; Vodafone Idea with a 15.56 percent market share and 198.66 million wireless subscribers; BSNL with a 7.28 percent market share and 92.91 million wireless subscribers; and MTNL with a 0.01 percent market share and 177,761 wireless subscribers.
Wireless (Fixed Wireless and Mobile) Access Broadband Subscribers
As of the end of May 2026, Reliance Jio reported 515.14 million wireless broadband subscribers—the highest number—followed by Bharti Airtel with 365.13 million, Vodafone Idea with 129.21 million, and BSNL with 23.02 million subscribers.
Wireline Telephone Subscriber Base
Wireline subscribers increased from 48.58 million at the end of April 2026 to 48.64 million at the end of May 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.06 million with a monthly growth rate of 0.12 percent.
In the wireline segment:
Reliance Jio held a 31.83 percent market share with 15,481,285 subscribers, adding 101,425 subscribers during the month.
Bharti Airtel accounted for a 24.30 percent share with 11,816,770 subscribers, adding 53,809 subscribers during the month.
Vodafone Idea held a market share of 1.74 percent with 846,690 subscribers, losing 13,865 subscribers during the month.
BSNL held a 15.28 percent market share with 7,433,813 subscribers, losing 31,338 subscribers during the month.
M2M Cellular Connections
The number of M2M (Machine-to-Machine) cellular mobile connections increased from 127.48 million at the end of April 2026 to 131.11 million at the end of May 2026.
Bharti Airtel led with 80.83 million M2M connections (61.65 percent market share), followed by Reliance Jio with 25.10 million (19.14 percent), Vodafone Idea with 21.00 million (16.02 percent), and BSNL with 4.18 million (3.19 percent).
Active Wireless Subscribers
Out of the total 1,277.00 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,195.74 million were active on the date of peak VLR in May 2026. The proportion of active wireless (mobile) subscribers was approximately 93.64 percent of the total wireless (mobile) subscriber base.
Bharti Airtel reported a peak VLR of 99.28 percent during the month, BSNL 55.85 percent, Vodafone Idea 84.41 percent, MTNL 151.85 percent, and Reliance Jio 98.83 percent.
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