The Machine-to-Machine (M2M) cellular mobile connections segment continued to be a consistent growth driver for India’s leading telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) through July 2026, according to the Telecom Subscription Data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
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All three operators recorded month-on-month growth in their M2M subscriber bases in July, highlighting the continued expansion of connected devices and IoT applications across industrial, enterprise and other digitisation-driven use cases. The sustained M2M additions are providing telecom operators with an additional avenue of growth alongside their consumer subscriber businesses.
Bharti Airtel Leads M2M Expansion with Strong Growth
Bharti Airtel has recorded the largest absolute M2M subscriber expansion among the three operators. Its M2M base increased from 70.18 million in January 2026 to 84.45 million in July 2026, adding 14.27 million connections, or around 20.3 percent, over the six-month period.
Airtel recorded M2M additions every month, with the strongest monthly gain coming in March at 3.5 million connections. In July, the operator added another 1.68 million M2M connections, taking its total M2M base to 84.45 million.
Airtel’s total wireless connections also increased from 467.79 million in January to 489.49 million in July, while its consumer SIM base continued to register positive monthly additions. In July alone, Airtel added 1.01 million consumer SIM connections, further strengthening its overall subscriber position.
Reliance Jio Strengthens M2M Growth Momentum
Reliance Jio also maintained a steady upward trajectory in M2M connections. Its M2M subscriber base grew from 20.60 million in January 2026 to 26.56 million in July, representing an addition of 5.96 million connections, or approximately 28.9 percent.
Jio recorded positive M2M additions in every month during the period, including 0.80 million connections in July. While the monthly additions were lower than Airtel’s in absolute terms, Jio’s M2M base registered the highest percentage growth among the three operators between January and July.
The growth in M2M connections accompanied continued expansion in Jio’s overall wireless subscriber base, which rose from 491.49 million in January to 506.03 million in July. Jio also added 1.65 million consumer SIM connections in July, taking its total consumer SIM base to 479.47 million.
Vodafone Idea (Vi) continued to see positive momentum in its M2M portfolio despite ongoing pressure on its consumer subscriber base. Vi’s M2M connections increased from 18.81 million in January 2026 to 21.92 million in July, representing an addition of 3.11 million connections, or around 16.5 percent.
The operator recorded positive M2M growth in every month, with additions ranging from 0.26 million to 0.95 million. In July, Vi added 0.30 million M2M connections, taking its M2M subscriber base above 21.9 million.
Vi’s total wireless connections also increased from 198.36 million in January to 199.06 million in July. However, its consumer segment remained under pressure, with the operator recording a net loss of around 59,000 consumer SIM connections in July. The continued expansion of its M2M base therefore provided a positive counterbalance to weakness in the consumer segment.
As M2M numbers are reported in millions (for example, 84.45 million), the figures have been converted to 84,450,000 for the purpose of calculation.
Conclusion
Overall, Airtel led the three operators in absolute M2M subscriber additions, adding 14.27 million connections between January and July 2026. Jio recorded the strongest percentage growth, with its M2M base expanding by nearly 29 percent during the same period. Vi, meanwhile, maintained uninterrupted M2M growth even as its consumer subscriber base remained under pressure.
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