India's Wireless Subscriber Surge: March Overview

India's wireless subscriber base grew to over 1.16 billion in March, driven by rural growth, as urban areas saw a slight dip. Reliance Jio led in net mobile additions, followed by Bharti Airtel. While urban tele-density declined slightly, rural areas saw an uptick.

India's wireless subscriber count, encompassing both mobile and 5G fixed wireless access, climbed to 1,163.76 million in March from 1,160.33 million in February, marking a 0.28% monthly increase, as reported by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday.

The TRAI data highlights a decrease in urban wireless subscriptions, which dropped from 634 million in late February to 632.57 million by late March. Conversely, rural subscriptions saw growth, increasing from 526.33 million to 531.18 million during the same timeframe.

While the overall wireless tele-density in India rose to 82.42% by the end of March, the urban areas experienced a slight decline in tele-density from 125.30% to 124.83%. Rural regions noted an increase, moving from 58.16% to 58.67%. Urban and rural subscribers respectively comprised 54.36% and 45.64% of the total subscriber base.

Specific to mobile subscribers, there was an uplift from 1,154.05 million at February's close to 1,156.99 million by the end of March, reflecting a 0.25% rise. Urban mobile subscribers grew slightly from 627.94 million to 628.31 million, while rural subscribers expanded from 526.11 million to 528.68 million within a month.

Regional data revealed Delhi boasting a tele-density of 275.79%, the highest, as Bihar lagged with a tele-density of 57.23%. Among service providers, Reliance Jio commanded 40.60% of net mobile subscriber additions, followed by Bharti Airtel at 33.69%, Vodafone Idea at 17.75%, and BSNL holding 7.87%.

(With inputs from agencies.)