On April 1, 2026, TRAI released its subscription data for February 2026. Indian telecom service providers Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) recorded gains in wireless subscribers during the month, while BSNL and MTNL reported subscriber losses, according to TRAI’s Telecom Subscription Data as of the end of February 2026. The data show that the total number of wireless (mobile and Fixed Wireless Access) subscribers increased from 1,266.34 million at the end of January 2026 to 1,273.31 million at the end of February 2026, registering a monthly growth rate of 0.55 percent. Likewise, the number of wireless (mobile) subscribers rose from 1,250.89 million to 1,257.29 million during the same period, reflecting a growth rate of 0.51 percent. Wireless tele-density in India increased from 88.87 percent to 89.30 percent. (M2M cellular mobile connections have also been included.)
Total wireless 5G FWA subscribers increased from 11.53 million at the end of January 2026 to 11.93 million at the end of February 2026, with 6.01 million (50.38 percent) in urban areas and 5.92 million (49.62 percent) in rural areas.
As of February 2026, Bharti Airtel reported a 5G FWA subscriber base of 3,589,144 (an addition of 229,707), while Reliance Jio reported 8,342,435 (an addition of 174,831) 5G FWA users, bringing the total to 11,931,579.
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, the only operator reporting UBR FWA subscribers, increased its UBR FWA base from 3,919,220 at the end of January to 4,086,086 at the end of February, adding 166,866 users.
Gain and Loss of Wireless Subscribers
Bharti Airtel added 4,857,828 wireless (mobile) subscribers, and Reliance Jio added 1,624,197 subscribers during the month. Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea added 21,927 wireless (mobile) subscribers. BSNL lost 101,824 subscribers, while MTNL lost 2,701 subscribers during February 2026.
Except Kolkata, all Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) showed growth in wireless (mobile) subscribers during February 2026.
Wireless Market Share of Operators
As of February 28, 2026, private access service providers held 92.59 percent of the wireless (mobile) market, while BSNL and MTNL accounted for 7.41 percent.
This translates to Reliance Jio holding a 39.22 percent market share with 493.11 million wireless subscribers; Bharti Airtel with a 37.59 percent market share and 472.65 million wireless subscribers; Vodafone Idea with a 15.78 percent market share and 198.38 million wireless subscribers; BSNL with a 7.39 percent market share and 92.93 million wireless subscribers; and MTNL with a 0.02 percent market share and 0.22 million wireless subscribers.
Wireless (Fixed wireless and Mobile) Access Broadband Subscribers
As of February 28, 2026, Reliance Jio reported 505.54 million wireless broadband subscribers—the highest number—followed by Bharti Airtel with 353.61 million, Vodafone Idea with 129.35 million, and BSNL with 24.26 million subscribers.
Wireline Telephone Subscriber Base
Wireline subscribers increased from 47.66 million at the end of January 2026 to 47.99 million at the end of February 2026. The net increase in the wireline subscriber base was 0.34 million, with continued growth in the segment.
In the wireline segment:
Reliance Jio held a 31.36 percent market share with 15,048,740 subscribers, adding 117,645 subscribers during the month.
Bharti Airtel accounted for a 23.74 percent share with around 11,396,218 subscribers, adding 231,163 subscribers during the month.
Vodafone Idea held a market share of around 1.75 percent with about 841,487 subscribers, adding 26,416 subscribers during the month.
Meanwhile, BSNL held a 15.45 percent market share with around 7.41 million (7,413,421) subscribers, adding 45,619 subscribers during the month.
M2M Cellular Connections
The number of M2M (Machine-to-Machine) cellular mobile connections increased from 113.46 million at the end of January 2026 to 118.47 million at the end of February 2026.
Bharti Airtel led with 73.49 million M2M connections (62.03 percent market share), followed by Reliance Jio with 21.75 million (18.35 percent), Vodafone Idea with 19.32 million (16.31 percent), and BSNL with 3.92 million (3.31 percent).
Active Wireless Subscribers
Out of the total 1,257.29 million wireless (mobile) subscribers, 1,177.60 million were active on the date of peak VLR in February 2026. The proportion of active wireless (mobile) subscribers was approximately 93.66 percent of the total wireless (mobile) subscriber base. Bharti Airtel reported a peak VLR of 99.42 percent during the month, BSNL 57.34 percent, Vodafone Idea 85.24 percent, MTNL 143.16 percent, and Reliance Jio 98.35 percent.
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