Reliance Jio leads mobile subscriber additions, adds 24 lakh users in August: TRAI data

New Delhi [India], September 28 : Reliance Jio led India's telecom operators in mobile subscriber additions in August, adding around 24 lakh subscribers, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
As per the data, Jio added 2.4 million wireless mobile subscribers during the month, the highest among telecom operators. Bharti Airtel added 2.1 million, while Vodafone Idea added about 5.1 lakh subscribers and BSNL added around 4.9 lakh.
The overall wireless mobile subscriber base increased by around 5.5 million in August, taking the total to 1.29 billion at the end of the month. Reliance Communications recorded a decline of 87 subscribers, while MTNL lost about 5,900 subscribers, the TRAI data showed.
The data also showed continued expansion in India's broadband market. The total broadband subscriber base rose from 1.09 billion in July to 1.10 billion in August, registering monthly growth of 0.61 per cent.
Jio remained the largest broadband service provider with 538.03 million subscribers at the end of August. Airtel followed with 386.39 million, Vodafone Idea with 130.88 million and BSNL with 27.82 million. The top five broadband providers together accounted for 98.58 per cent of the market.
The data highlighted that Jio also continued to add subscribers in the fixed wireless access (FWA) segment, which is being used for broadband connectivity. It added 148,870 5G FWA subscribers in August, taking its 5G FWA subscriber base to 9.42 million.
Its UBR-based FWA subscriber base increased by another 229,659 during the month to 5.37 million. Together, Jio added nearly 3.8 lakh FWA connections during August.
Airtel added 96,339 5G FWA subscribers during the month. On this basis, Jio's combined FWA additions were nearly four times Airtel's 5G FWA additions in August.
India's total FWA subscriber base stood at 18.82 million at the end of August, comprising 13.45 million 5G FWA connections and 5.37 million UBR FWA connections.
Jio also remained the largest fixed-wired broadband provider, with 14.81 million subscribers, compared with Airtel's 11.44 million, according to the TRAI data.
Meanwhile, India's overall telephone subscriber base increased by 6.42 million during August to 1.36 billion. The country's overall tele-density rose to 95.07 per cent during the month.
The August data shows that Jio continued to lead subscriber additions in the mobile segment while also maintaining its lead in India's broadband market and expanding its presence in fixed wireless access.