Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel accounted for more than 5.3 million of these additions, leading the industry’s subscriber growth during the period.
India’s telecom sector continued to expand in September 2026, with the country’s mobile subscriber base crossing 1.3 billion after operators collectively added 6.57 million net wireless mobile subscribers during the month, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
India’s wireless mobile subscriber base increased from 1,293.43 million at the end of August to 1,300 million by the end of September, registering a monthly growth of 0.51%.
Reliance Jio recorded the highest net addition, gaining 2.71 million subscribers, while Bharti Airtel added 2.69 million users. State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) gained 626,000 subscribers, followed by Vodafone Idea with 550,000 additions. In contrast, MTNL reported a decline of 6,628 subscribers.
TRAI data also highlighted growth across both urban and rural markets. Urban wireless mobile subscriptions increased from 748.84 million in August to 753.85 million in September. Rural subscriptions rose from 544.58 million to 546.14 million.
Urban markets recorded a monthly growth rate of 0.67%, compared with 0.29% in rural areas.
The broader wireless subscriber base, which includes mobile connections and fixed wireless access services, grew from 1,312.25 million in August to 1,319.19 million in September, adding 6.94 million subscribers.
Similarly, India’s total telephone subscriber base, covering both wireless and wireline connections, increased from 1,360.70 million to 1,367.93 million. This represented a net addition of 7.23 million subscribers and a monthly growth rate of 0.53%.
The broadband segment also maintained its upward trend. Its subscriber base expanded from 1,101.21 million in August to 1,107.68 million in September, adding 6.47 million subscribers at a monthly growth rate of 0.59%.
Meanwhile, 16.77 million subscribers submitted mobile number portability (MNP) requests during September, indicating their intention to switch service providers while retaining their existing mobile numbers. The number of active wireless mobile subscribers stood at 1,212.80 million.
India’s overall tele-density increased from 95.07% in August to 95.52% in September. Urban tele-density rose from 155% to 155.85%, while rural tele-density improved from 61.12% to 61.30%.
At the end of September, urban and rural subscribers accounted for 59.05% and 40.95% of the country’s total telephone subscriber base, respectively.
The wireline segment also registered growth, with subscriptions increasing from 48.45 million in August to 48.74 million in September. The segment added 0.29 million subscribers, recording a monthly growth rate of 0.60%.
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