According to data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday, Reliance Jio achieved the largest growth in wireless mobile subscribers in August, attracting nearly 2.40 million new users. It was followed by Bharti Airtel, which added about 2.11 million subscribers.
Jio's wireless mobile subscriber base increased to 508.43 million by the end of August, up from 506.03 million at the end of July, corresponding to a net increase of 2.40 million subscribers. Airtel also grew its base by 2.11 million users, bringing it to approximately 491.60 million from 489.49 million.
During this month, Vodafone Idea added approximately 506 thousand wireless mobile subscribers, while the state-owned company BSNL gained almost 493 thousand new users. MTNL, conversely, recorded a decrease in subscribers of approximately 5.9 thousand.
Overall, the total number of wireless subscribers (including mobile and fixed wireless access) reached 1,312.25 million by the end of August 2026, representing a monthly growth of 0.46 percent. TRAI reported that the number of wireless subscriptions in urban areas rose from 753.86 million in July 2026 to 759.11 million in August 2026. Meanwhile, subscriptions in rural areas also increased from 552.40 million to 553.14 million over the same period.
Consequently, the monthly growth rate of wireless subscriptions in cities was 0.70 percent, and in rural areas, it was 0.13 percent. Private telecom operators continue to dominate the mobile market, accounting for 92.75 percent of all wireless mobile subscribers by the end of August, while state-owned BSNL and MTNL together hold the remaining 7.25 percent.
TRAI noted that Airtel maintains the highest share of active mobile subscribers among major operators, as 99.01 percent of Airtel's wireless mobile subscriber base was active on the date of the Visitor Location Register (VLR) peak in August. Furthermore, the total number of telephone subscribers, including landlines, grew to 1,360.70 million by the end of August, which is a monthly increase of 0.47 percent, according to TRAI data.