Feb 2025 Telecom Subscriber Data: Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio Lead the Industry

According to the Telecom Subscription Data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for February 2025, Indian telecom service providers Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio saw an increase in wireless subscribers, while Vodafone Idea (Vi) and the state-owned BSNL experienced a decline in subscribers during the same period. The total number of wireless subscribers grew from 1,151.29 million at the end of January 2025 to 1,154.05 million by February 28, 2025, reflecting a 0.24% month-on-month growth.

Gains and Losses of Wireless Subscribers

Bharti Airtel gained 1.59 million new wireless subscribers, and Reliance Jio added 1.76 million. However, Vodafone Idea lost 20,720 subscribers. BSNL and MTNL, the 2 public sector telecom providers, lost 5,66,069 and 2,034 subscribers, respectively.

Market Share of Wireless Operators

As of February 28, 2025, private telecom operators controlled 92.03% of the wireless subscriber market. In comparison, BSNL and MTNL held a combined market share of just 7.97%. Within this, Reliance Jio led with a 40.52% share (467.58 million subscribers), followed by Bharti Airtel with 33.67% (388.55 million), and Vodafone Idea with 17.84% (205.90 million). BSNL and MTNL had 7.89% (91.01 million) and 0.09% (1 million) market shares, respectively.

Wireless Broadband Subscribers

In wireless broadband (both fixed and mobile), Reliance Jio led with 465.10 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 280.76 million, Vodafone Idea with 125.87 million, and BSNL with 30.87 million subscribers. These figures for Jio and Airtel are based on reports from November 2024.

Wireline Market Share

The wireline subscriber base grew from 35.03 million at the end of January 2025 to 36.91 million at the end of February 2025, marking an increase of 1.88 million subscribers and a growth rate of 5.36%. In the wireline segment, Reliance Jio led with a 34.45% market share, adding 93,689 subscribers, while Bharti Airtel had a 27.29% share with 107,690 new subscribers. Vodafone Idea reported a 2.26% share, losing 6,734 subscribers, and BSNL grew its share to 20.91%, adding 1.7 million users.

Active Wireless Subscribers

Out of the total 1,154.05 million wireless subscribers in February 2025, 1,068.37 million were active, representing 92.58% of the total base. Bharti Airtel reported the highest peak VLR (Visitor Location Register) at 99.90%, followed by Reliance Jio at 95.38%. BSNL’s VLR was 64.15%, Vodafone Idea’s was 85.18%, and MTNL reported the lowest at 45.44%.

Also Read: TRAI Released Telecom Subscription Data: Jio Recorded Market Share of 50.43% in Dec 24

Conclusion

The Indian telecom sector experienced steady growth in February 2025, with Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio leading the charge in subscriber additions, particularly in the wireless and 5G FWA segments. While private operators continue to dominate the market with a combined 92.03% share, public sector providers like BSNL and MTNL saw declines in their subscriber bases.

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