Key Points
- India added 64.2 lakh telephone connections in August, taking total to 136 crore
- M2M connections contributed 28 lakh of the 64.2 lakh monthly additions
- Rural areas now hold 52 per cent of India's 5G fixed wireless broadband base
India added 64.2 lakh telephone connections in August 2026, taking the total subscriber base to 136 crore, but machine-to-machine connections rather than consumer mobile SIMs drove nearly 44 per cent of the monthly increase, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The composition of that growth marks a significant shift in what is driving headline telecom subscription figures. Of the 64.2 lakh connections added during the month, M2M connections, which connect devices such as smart meters, vehicle trackers and industrial sensors rather than conventional phone users, accounted for 28 lakh additions alone. Consumer mobile SIMs rose by about 27 lakh, while fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband added about 4.7 lakh connections and wireline about 4.4 lakh.
TRAI‘s August figures show India now has 115.3 crore consumer mobile SIMs, 14.05 crore M2M connections, 1.88 crore FWA connections and 4.85 crore wireline connections. The consumer mobile SIM base remains below its level a year ago, meaning a straight year-on-year comparison of TRAI’s headline total can be misleading because the composition of the wireless subscriber base has changed substantially.
Operator market share
Among telecom operators, Reliance Jio added about 24 lakh mobile connections during August, followed by Bharti Airtel with 21.1 lakh. Vodafone Idea added about 5.1 lakh connections and BSNL about 4.9 lakh. Jio accounted for 39.31 per cent of the mobile subscriber base, followed closely by Airtel at 38.01 per cent. Vodafone Idea and BSNL held 15.43 per cent and 7.24 per cent respectively.
The market share figures include M2M connections, where Airtel holds a commanding lead. Airtel had 8.61 crore M2M connections at the end of August, representing 61.25 per cent of the segment. Jio held 19.29 per cent, Vodafone Idea 16.06 per cent and BSNL 3.40 per cent.
The M2M segment has grown sharply over the past year as enterprises deploy connected devices for fleet management, utility metering, industrial automation and remote monitoring applications. This growth is increasingly influencing headline subscriber metrics that were traditionally used as a proxy for consumer mobile adoption.
Rural 5G broadband surge
Fixed wireless broadband using 5G technology continued its expansion, with India recording 1.35 crore 5G FWA connections at the end of August, up from 1.32 crore in July. FWA uses wireless spectrum rather than physical cables to deliver broadband to homes and businesses.
The rural-urban split in this segment has shifted significantly. Rural India accounted for 69.8 lakh 5G FWA connections compared with 64.7 lakh in urban areas, giving rural markets a 51.9 per cent share of the 5G FWA base. A year ago, rural areas held a smaller share of 5G FWA connections, suggesting that fixed wireless is increasingly being deployed to extend broadband access beyond large urban markets where fibre networks are already available.
The wireline market also expanded during August. Connections increased by 4.44 lakh to 4.85 crore, a monthly growth of 0.93 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 4.19 per cent. Nearly 89 per cent of wireline connections remain concentrated in urban areas, highlighting the continuing gap between urban and rural fixed connectivity.
By the numbers
Key figures from this story- 136 crore
- Total telephone connections in India
- 44%
- Monthly growth from M2M connections
- 52%
- Rural share of 5G FWA broadband
Overall tele-density, which measures telephone connections per 100 people, rose from 94.68 per cent in July to 95.07 per cent in August. The urban figure stood at 155 per cent compared with 61.12 per cent in rural India. TRAI includes M2M connections when calculating tele-density, so the figure should not be read as the proportion of individual Indians who own or use a telephone.
The urban-rural gap is visible within mobile connections as well. Urban mobile subscriptions grew 0.70 per cent during August while rural subscriptions increased by just 0.06 per cent. Urban areas had 74.88 crore mobile connections and rural areas 54.46 crore at month end.
Of the 129.3 crore mobile connections, 120.8 crore were active on the peak visitor location register (VLR) date during August, a metric that tracks how many SIMs were registered on the network at a given time. This puts the active connection ratio at 93.36 per cent. Airtel had the highest active subscriber proportion among the four major operators at 99.01 per cent.
Mobile number portability requests remained elevated at 1.58 crore during August, though they eased slightly from 1.60 crore in July. Uttar Pradesh East generated the highest number of porting requests in the northern and western zone at 22.3 lakh, while Madhya Pradesh led the southern and eastern zone with 15.3 lakh.
Your Questions, Answered
How many telephone connections did India add in August 2026?
India added 64.2 lakh telephone connections in August 2026, taking the total subscriber base to 136 crore according to TRAI data.
What is driving telecom subscriber growth in India?
Machine-to-machine connections rather than consumer mobile SIMs are increasingly driving growth. M2M connections contributed 28 lakh of the 64.2 lakh additions in August, representing nearly 44 per cent of the monthly increase.
Which telecom operator has the highest market share in India?
Reliance Jio leads the mobile subscriber market with 39.31 per cent share, followed closely by Bharti Airtel at 38.01 per cent. However, Airtel dominates the M2M segment with 61.25 per cent market share.
How is 5G fixed wireless broadband distributed between urban and rural India?
Rural India now holds 51.9 per cent of 5G FWA connections with 69.8 lakh subscribers, compared to 64.7 lakh in urban areas. This marks a shift from a year ago when urban areas had the larger share.
