Telecom Subscriber Base Grows By 6.2 Million To 1.35 Billion In July: TRAI

New Delhi: India added 6.2 million telephone subscribers in July 2026, taking the country’s total subscriber base to 1.354 billion, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The overall subscriber base grew 0.46 per cent during the month, supported by additions across both wireless and wireline services.

Wireless Connections Drive Growth

Wireless services accounted for most of the increase, adding 6.02 million subscribers during July. Wireline services recorded a comparatively modest addition of 0.19 million connections.

At the end of July, India had 1,354.28 million telephone subscribers. Urban markets accounted for 58.83 per cent of the total subscriber base, while rural areas contributed 41.17 per cent.

Broadband Users Cross 1.09 Billion

India’s broadband market also continued to expand. Including machine-to-machine (M2M) cellular connections, the broadband subscriber base reached 1,094.48 million.

Of this, wireless broadband accounted for 1,046.34 million subscribers, while wireline broadband connections stood at 48.14 million.

Excluding M2M cellular connections, broadband subscribers stood at 1,005.72 million, representing monthly growth of 0.58 per cent.

Rural Connectivity Expands

Rural telephone subscribers increased by 1.58 million during July to 557.59 million, registering month-on-month growth of 0.28 per cent.

Overall tele-density, including M2M connections, stood at 94.68 per cent. Urban tele-density was significantly higher at 154.12 per cent, compared with 61.05 per cent in rural India.

MNP Requests Remain Strong

Demand for mobile number portability remained robust, with 15.98 million subscribers submitting MNP requests during July.

Meanwhile, the number of active wireless subscribers recorded on the date of peak Visitor Location Register (VLR) stood at 1,204.01 million during the month.