India’s Internet Subscriber Base Crosses 1.11 Billion, Telecom Revenue Rises 10.5%: TRAI
The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report for April-June 2026 showed that the total number of telephone subscribers, including wireless and wireline connections, increased 1.31 per cent from 1.331 billion at the end of March to 1.348 billion at the end of June.
Overall tele-density rose from 93.26 per cent to 94.31 per cent during the period, the report stated.
The internet subscriber base grew from 1.093 billion in March to 1.114 billion in June. Broadband subscribers increased 2.03 per cent to 1.088 billion, while narrowband subscribers declined 0.89 per cent to 26.67 million.
Wireless data usage continued to rise, with the number of mobile data subscribers increasing 1.86 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 1.046 billion.
Total mobile data consumption rose 8.3 per cent to 84,424 petabytes during the quarter. Average monthly data usage per wireless data subscriber increased 6.32 per cent to 28.39 GB.
The report also recorded an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) for wireless services.
Monthly ARPU rose 1.19 per cent from Rs 184.91 in the March quarter to Rs 187.12 in the June quarter, registering year-on-year growth of 3.11 per cent, the report said.
Average revenue realisation per GB of wireless data, however, declined 5.07 per cent to Rs 7.13.
The telecom sector’s gross revenue stood at Rs 1,06,797 crore in the June quarter, up 10.5 per cent year-on-year. Applicable gross revenue increased 9.52 per cent to Rs 1,01,036 crore, while adjusted gross revenue rose 9.19 per cent to Rs 88,796 crore.
Wireless subscriptions, including mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA), increased by a net 17.92 million during the quarter to 1.300 billion.
The mobile subscriber base alone added 16.66 million connections to reach 1.282 billion.
Urban telephone subscribers increased to 792.06 million, while rural subscribers rose to 556.01 million. However, the rural share of total telephone subscriptions edged down from 41.47 per cent in March to 41.24 per cent in June.
Wireline subscriptions declined 0.88 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 47.82 million.
The report also showed that the active subscriber base of paid direct-to-home (DTH) services fell from 49.09 million in the March quarter to 48.56 million in June.
In broadcasting, India had 386 operational private FM radio channels across 121 cities at the end of June, while 578 community radio stations were operational.
Advertisement revenue reported by private FM radio operators stood at Rs 376.16 crore during the quarter.
The report presents key performance indicators and growth trends across telecom, cable television, DTH and radio broadcasting services for the quarter ended June 30, 2026.
