India’s mobile subscriber base grew by 5.5 million in August, reaching 1.29 billion, according to TRAI. Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel dominated the new additions, collectively accounting for over 4.5 million new users during the month.
India added 5.5 million mobile subscribers in August, taking the country’s total mobile subscriber base to 1.29 billion, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The data highlighted that the wireless subscriber base stood at 1.29 billion at the end of August, up from about 1.28 billion in July. The overall wireless subscriber base recorded a monthly growth of 0.43 per cent.
Urban Growth Outpaces Rural
It also showed that the urban areas accounted for most of the increase during the month. The urban wireless subscriber base rose by 0.70 per cent to 748.84 million, while the rural subscriber base increased only 0.06 per cent to 544.58 million.
Operator Performance in August
Among the major telecom operators, Reliance Jio added 2.4 million subscribers in August, the highest addition among service providers. Bharti Airtel added 2.1 million, while Vodafone Idea added about 506,000 subscribers. State-owned BSNL added about 493,000 subscribers during the month.
In contrast, Reliance Communications declined by 87 subscribers, while MTNL lost about 5,900 subscribers. Together, Jio and Airtel accounted for more than 4.5 million of the 5.5 million net wireless additions recorded during August.
Overall Telecom Sector Growth
The data highlighted that the growth in mobile subscriptions also contributed to an increase in India’s overall telephone subscriber base. The total number of telephone subscribers, including wireless and wireline connections, rose to 1.36 billion in August from 1.35 billion in July, registering monthly growth of 0.47 per cent.
The wireline subscriber base also increased during the month, reaching 48.45 million, up from 48.01 million in July. This represented growth of 0.93 per cent.
Key Metrics: Tele-density and Broadband
India’s overall tele-density also improved to 95.07 per cent in August from 94.68 per cent in July. Urban tele-density stood at 155 per cent, while rural tele-density was 61.12 per cent.
The broadband subscriber base crossed the 1.1 billion mark during August. It increased to 1.10 billion from 1.09 billion in July, registering monthly growth of 0.61 per cent, according to TRAI data covering 1,579 operators.
The data also showed a continuing gap between urban and rural subscriber growth. While urban wireless connections expanded at 0.70 per cent during the month, rural wireless subscriptions grew only 0.06 per cent.
Overall, the August data showed that India’s telecom subscriber base continued to expand, with mobile connections and urban subscriptions accounting for the bulk of the monthly growth. (ANI)
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