Debt-laden private telecom service provider Vi continued to lose customers, with more than 300,000 subscribers logging out of its network in August, according to subscriber data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
On the other hand, market leaders Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel further strengthened their lead with the addition of 194,900 and 496,000 wireless subscribers, respectively.
State-run telecom service provider Bharat Sachar Nigam Limited (BSNL) added a total of 138,500 wireless service users, registering the best month-on-month growth rate of 1.53 per cent among all domestic telecom service providers.
The telco recently rolled out a pan-Indian 4G network , and hopes to completely roll out a 5G network for its users over the next six to eight months.
"The wireless (mobile) tele-density in India increased from 82.16 per cent at the end of July 2025 to 82.35 per cent at the end of August 2025. The urban wireless (mobile) tele-density decreased from 124.75 per cent at the end of July 2025 to 125.05 per cent at the end of August 2025, and rural wireless (mobile) tele-density increased from 58.20 per cent to 58.30 per cent during the same period," Trai said in its monthly report.
State-run-BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited jointly lost about 190,000 subscribers.
Tata Telecommunications and Bharti Airtel added 117,000 and 108,000 wireline subscribers, respectively.
-- Aashish Aryan, Business Standard