BSNL Outperforms Airtel as Jio Continues Telecom Dominance
Reliance Jio maintained its leadership position in India’s telecom sector with massive subscriber additions in September 2025, while state-run BSNL surprisingly outpaced Bharti Airtel in mobile user growth, according to the latest TRAI report.
Key Takeaways
- Jio added 32.49 lakh mobile and 2.12 lakh wireline subscribers
- BSNL surpassed Airtel with 5.24 lakh vs 4.37 lakh mobile additions
- Vodafone Idea continued to bleed subscribers with 7.44 lakh losses
- India’s broadband base neared 100 crore milestone at 99.56 crore
Jio’s Historic 50 Crore Milestone
Reliance Jio achieved a significant milestone in September 2025, crossing the 50 crore total subscriber mark for the first time and reaching 50.64 crore customers. The telecom giant led both mobile and wireline segments with substantial additions of 32.49 lakh mobile users and 2,12,662 wireline subscribers.
BSNL’s Surprising Comeback
In a notable development, state-owned BSNL outperformed private sector giant Bharti Airtel in mobile subscriber additions. BSNL added 5.24 lakh new mobile customers compared to Airtel’s 4.37 lakh during the same period, marking continued momentum for the public sector undertaking.
The overall wireless subscriber base stood at 108.85 crore active users in September 2025.
Struggling Telecom Players
While some operators gained ground, others faced significant challenges. Vodafone Idea (Vi) continued its subscriber decline with a loss of 7.44 lakh mobile customers. MTNL and Reliance Communications also recorded losses of 56,928 and 13 subscribers respectively.
Wireline Segment Dynamics
In the wireline category, Bharti Airtel followed Jio with 97,383 new additions, while Reliance Communications added 6,456 customers. However, Tata Teleservices suffered the biggest setback with a decline of 1.63 lakh wireline subscribers.
Other notable losers in the wireline segment included MTNL (32,930), APSFL (19,049), Quadrant (1,733), BSNL (3,110), and Vi (3,125 subscribers).
Market Overview and Broadland Growth
India’s total telecom subscriber base reached 122.89 crore in September, with wireless services accounting for 118.23 crore and wireline contributing 4.66 crore customers.
The broadband sector approached a major milestone, growing to 99.56 crore subscribers – just shy of the 100 crore mark. Wireless broadband dominated with 95.12 crore users, while wireline broadband stood at 4.44 crore.
Reliance Jio led the broadband market with 50.54 crore customers, followed by Bharti Airtel (31 crore), Vi (12.77 crore), BSNL (3.47 crore), and Atria Convergence (23.4 lakh). Together, these top five players controlled 98.5% of the broadband market.
The data indicates continuing consolidation in the Indian telecom sector, with established players strengthening their positions while others struggle to retain customers.
