Indian telecom service providers Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) recorded gains in wireless subscribers during the month, while MTNL reported subscriber losses, according to TRAI’s Telecom Subscription Data as of the end of March 2026. The data show that the total number of wireless (mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) subscribers increased from 1,273.31 million at the end of February 2026 to 1,282.33 million at the end of March 2026, registering a monthly growth rate of 0.71 percent. Likewise, the number of wireless (mobile) subscribers rose from 1,257.29 million to 1,265.73 million during the same period, reflecting a growth rate of 0.67 percent. Wireless tele-density in India increased from 89.30 percent to 89.88 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 11.93 million at the end of February 2026 to 12.32 million at the end of March 2026, with 6.17 million (50.37 percent) in urban areas and 6.15 million (49.63 percent) in rural areas.
As of March 2026, Bharti Airtel reported a 5G FWA subscriber base of 3,737,658 (an addition of 148,514), while Reliance Jio reported 8,584,110 (an addition of 241,675) 5G FWA users, bringing the total to 12,321,768.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, the only operator reporting UBR FWA subscribers, increased its UBR FWA base from 4,086,086 at the end of February to 4,285,595 at the end of March, adding 199,509 users.
“UBR FWA subscription stood at 4.29 million at the end of March 2026 with subscriptions in urban and rural areas of 3.05 million and 1.23 million respectively. The shares of urban and rural wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers in total wireless (UBR FWA) subscribers were 71.23 percent and 28.77 percent respectively, at the end of March 2026,” the TRAI report released on April 22, 2026, said.
Gain and Loss of Wireless Subscribers
Bharti Airtel added 5,094,968 wireless (mobile) subscribers, and Reliance Jio added 3,227,542 subscribers during the month. Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea added 102,899 wireless (mobile) subscribers. BSNL added 17,095 subscribers, while MTNL lost 9065 subscribers during March 2026.
All Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) showed growth in wireless (mobile) subscribers during March 2026.
Wireless Market Share of Operators
As of the end of March, 2026, private access service providers held 92.64 percent of the wireless (mobile) market, while BSNL and MTNL accounted for 7.36 percent.
This translates to Reliance Jio holding a 39.21 percent market share with 496.34 million wireless subscribers; Bharti Airtel with a 37.74 percent market share and 477.74 million wireless subscribers; Vodafone Idea with a 15.68 percent market share and 198.48 million wireless subscribers; BSNL with a 7.34 percent market share and 92.94 million wireless subscribers; and MTNL with a 0.02 percent market share and 214,967 wireless subscribers.
Wireless (Fixed wireless and Mobile) Access Broadband Subscribers
As of the end of March, 2026, Reliance Jio reported 509.21 million wireless broadband subscribers—the highest number—followed by Bharti Airtel with 358.13 million, Vodafone Idea with 128.91 million, and BSNL with 22.86 million subscribers.
Wireline Telephone Subscriber Base
Wireline subscribers increased from 47.99 million at the end of February 2026 to 48.25 million at the end of March 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.25 million with a monthly growth rate of 0.53 percent.
In the wireline segment:
Reliance Jio held a 31.58 percent market share with 15,237,438 subscribers, adding 188,698 subscribers during the month.
Bharti Airtel accounted for a 23.67 percent share with around 11,419,588 subscribers, adding 23,370 subscribers during the month.
Vodafone Idea held a market share of around 1.77 percent with about 853,441 subscribers, adding 11,954 subscribers during the month.
Meanwhile, BSNL held a 15.46 percent market share with around 7.46 million (7,461,302) subscribers, adding 47,881 subscribers during the month.
M2M Cellular Connections
The number of M2M (Machine-to-Machine) cellular mobile connections increased from 118.47 million at the end of February 2026 to 123.88 million at the end of March 2026.
Bharti Airtel led with 76.99 million M2M connections (62.15 percent market share), followed by Reliance Jio with 23.23 million (18.76 percent), Vodafone Idea with 19.58 million (15.81 percent), and BSNL with 4.06 million (3.28 percent).
Active Wireless Subscribers
Out of the total 1,265.73 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,185.60 million were active on the date of peak VLR in March 2026. The proportion of active wireless (mobile) subscribers was approximately 93.67 percent of the total wireless (mobile) subscriber base.
Bharti Airtel reported a peak VLR of 99.24 percent during the month, BSNL 56.36 percent, Vodafone Idea 85.30 percent, MTNL 141.50 percent, and Reliance Jio 98.62 percent.
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