India’s mobile subscriber base continued to expand in August, with the country adding around 55 lakh wireless mobile users during the month, according to the latest telecom data.
The addition pushed India’s total wireless mobile subscriber base to around 129.34 crore at the end of August, up from 128.79 crore in July.
Jio Adds 24 Lakh Users
Reliance Jio recorded the highest subscriber addition among India’s major telecom operators.
Jio added around 24.02 lakh mobile subscribers during August, taking its total wireless mobile subscriber base to approximately 50.84 crore.
Jio’s market share stood at around 39.31% at the end of August, keeping it ahead of its major private-sector rival.
Airtel Adds 21 Lakh Subscribers
Bharti Airtel followed closely, adding around 21.11 lakh mobile subscribers during August.
Its subscriber base increased to approximately 49.16 crore, giving the company a market share of around 38.01%.
Together, Jio and Airtel accounted for more than 45 lakh of India’s 55 lakh net mobile subscriber additions during the month.
The numbers underline the continued dominance of the two companies in India’s mobile telecom market.
Vi And BSNL Also Add Users
Vodafone Idea added around 5.06 lakh mobile subscribers in August, taking its total base to nearly 19.96 crore.
State-owned BSNL also recorded a gain of around 4.93 lakh users, taking its mobile subscriber base to approximately 9.37 crore.
MTNL, however, lost around 5,900 subscribers during the month.
Overall, private telecom operators accounted for 92.75% of India’s wireless mobile subscriber base, while BSNL and MTNL together held the remaining 7.25%.
Urban India Drives Subscriber Growth
The latest figures also show a significant difference between urban and rural subscriber growth.
Urban wireless subscriptions increased 0.70% during August, reaching around 74.88 crore. Rural wireless subscriptions grew much more slowly, rising 0.06% to approximately 54.46 crore.
This means urban connections grew more than 11 times faster than rural connections during the month.
Broadband Base Crosses 110 Crore
India’s broader telecom ecosystem also continued to expand.
The country’s total broadband subscriber base crossed 110 crore in August, rising from around 109 crore in July. The broadband base grew 0.61% during the month.
Overall telephone subscriptions, including both wireless and fixed-line connections, increased to around 136 crore.
Jio Retains The Lead
The August numbers show that India’s telecom market remains heavily concentrated around Jio and Airtel.
While Vi and BSNL also recorded subscriber additions, Jio and Airtel together captured more than 80% of the month’s net mobile additions.
With India’s total mobile base continuing to grow, competition between the major operators is increasingly focused not only on adding subscribers but also on retaining active users and expanding broadband and 5G services.
Summary
India added around 55 lakh mobile subscribers in August, taking the country’s wireless mobile subscriber base to approximately 129.34 crore. Reliance Jio led with 24.02 lakh additions, followed by Airtel with 21.11 lakh. Vi added 5.06 lakh and BSNL 4.93 lakh. Urban subscriptions grew much faster than rural connections, while India’s broadband base crossed 110 crore.
