New data from India's telecom regulator show Reliance Jio outpacing rival Bharti Airtel in net new wireless subscribers during September 2026, while state-run BSNL posted the sharpest relative gains among major carriers. The figures, published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), offer a snapshot of a market still expanding steadily past the 1.3 billion mark.
A Narrow Monthly Margin
Jio added 2.713 million mobile subscribers in September, compared with 2.692 million for Airtel - a gap of roughly 21,000 connections, underscoring how closely matched India's top two private operators have become on a month-to-month basis. Vodafone Idea, the long-struggling third major player, added 550,000 subscribers, while BSNL, the government-owned carrier rebuilding its network after years of decline, gained 626,000.
These additions pushed Jio's total wireless base to 511.1 million at the end of September, ahead of Airtel's 494.3 million and Vodafone Idea's more than 200 million. BSNL's subscriber count rose to 94.3 million. In market-share terms, Jio holds 39.32 percent of India's mobile subscribers, Airtel 38.02 percent and Vodafone Idea 15.39 percent.
Overall Market Growth
India's total wireless mobile subscriber base grew by 6.574 million in September to nearly 1.3 billion, up from 1.2934 billion in August - a monthly growth rate of 0.51 percent. When fixed wireless access connections are included, the broader wireless subscriber base rose by 6.941 million to 1.3192 billion. Counting wireline connections as well, India's total telephone subscriber base reached 1.368 billion. Of the mobile total, 1.2128 billion subscribers were classified as active.
Trai's data also recorded 16.8 million requests for mobile number portability during the month, reflecting continued subscriber churn as customers switch networks while keeping their existing numbers - a service enabled by India's long-standing portability framework.
Broadband and Machine Connections
The country's broadband subscriber base climbed to 1.1077 billion from 1.1012 billion in August, a 0.59 percent monthly increase, pointing to steady growth in data-dependent services alongside voice subscriptions.
Machine-to-machine (M2M) cellular connections - used in applications such as connected vehicles, utility metering and industrial sensors - grew from about 140 million at the end of August to 144 million at the end of September. Airtel dominates this segment with 88.58 million M2M connections, a 61.16 percent share, followed by Jio at 19.29 percent, Vodafone Idea at 16.14 percent and BSNL at 3.41 percent.
What the Numbers Suggest
The near-even split in new mobile additions between Jio and Airtel suggests competitive pricing and network investment remain finely balanced between the two leaders, even as Jio retains the larger overall subscriber base. BSNL's gains indicate its network modernization efforts are drawing some customers back, though its base remains far smaller than the private operators. Vodafone Idea's more modest additions continue to reflect its ongoing financial and network challenges relative to its two larger rivals.