New Delhi: India’s telecom subscriber base continued its gradual expansion in November 2025, with total telephone connections rising to 1,234.53 million, up by 3.16 million over the previous month, official data released by the Ministry of Communications showed.
Broadband subscriptions crossed a key milestone during the month, increasing from 999.81 million in October to 1,003.65 million by end-November. Wireless broadband remained the dominant segment with 958.54 million users, while wireline broadband stood at 45.11 million. The overall monthly growth in broadband subscribers was 0.38%, reflecting continued demand for high-speed data services across urban and rural markets.
Wireless telephone subscribers, including mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA), rose to 1,187.48 million in November, registering a net addition of 2.86 million. Urban areas accounted for a larger share of growth, though rural wireless subscriptions also increased marginally during the month. The overall wireless tele-density stood at 83.46%, with sharp divergence between urban tele-density of over 127% and rural tele-density below 59%.
Wireline connections, long considered a declining segment, showed modest revival with subscriber numbers increasing to 47.05 million, a net addition of 0.30 million in November. Wireline tele-density edged up to 3.31%, supported by rising enterprise demand and fibre-based broadband expansion.
Reliance Jio continued to dominate the broadband market with over 510 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 314 million and Vodafone Idea with nearly 128 million. Together, the top three players accounted for the bulk of broadband and wireless subscriptions, underscoring the high level of market concentration in the sector.
A key growth driver was fixed wireless access based on 5G technology. The number of 5G FWA subscribers increased to 10.41 million in November, up from 9.91 million in October, while unlicensed band radio-based FWA subscriptions stood at 3.19 million. Industry watchers see FWA as a crucial alternative to fibre in semi-urban and rural areas where last-mile connectivity remains challenging.
Mobile number portability activity remained strong, with 14.69 million porting requests submitted during the month, indicating sustained competitive intensity among telecom operators. Uttar Pradesh (East and West), Bihar and Madhya Pradesh emerged as the most active circles for porting.
Overall, the data points to steady, incremental growth in India’s telecom sector, led by mobile data consumption and new-generation access technologies, even as traditional voice and wireline segments show only limited gains.