The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its telecom subscription data as of December 31, 2025. The latest figures show that state-owned BSNL has broken its growth streak and lost subscribers in December, 2025. Meanwhile, private operators Airtel and Reliance Jio added new subscribers, while Vodafone Idea continued to witness a downward trend.
In broadband connectivity, the report highlights growing adoption of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband, which increased by 5.04 per cent in December.
Mobile subscriber growth in December, 2025
| Service Provider | Net Additions/Losses in December | Total Subscriber Base (End of Dec) |
Comparison to November 2025
|
| Bharti Airtel | +54,28,314 | 46,33,84,389 |
Growth (1.19% rate)
|
| Reliance Jio | +29,60,588 | 48,90,50,236 |
Growth (0.61% rate)
|
| Vodafone Idea (Vi) | -9,40,731 | 19,87,71,306 |
Decline (-0.47% rate)
|
| BSNL | -2,06,797 | 9,27,63,513 |
Decline (-0.22% rate)
|
According to the report, Reliance Jio remains the market leader with a 39.31 per cent market share, followed by Bharti Airtel at 37.24 per cent.
While Airtel recorded the highest net additions, it is important to note that beginning December 2025, the company started including its M2M (Machine-to-Machine) cellular subscriber base in its reporting. This contributed to the significant increase in subscriber additions. Bharti Airtel holds a 61.31 per cent market share in the M2M segment, with 66.95 million connections.
Active users: What VLR data reveals
The report also provides insights into Visitor Location Register (VLR) data, which tracks active users present on the network during peak usage hours.
Out of 1,244.20 million wireless subscribers, only 1,162.97 million — or 93.47 per cent — are active users.
BSNL, for instance, has a market share of approximately 7.47 per cent, but its active rate stands at 58.23 per cent, indicating that nearly 40 per cent of its subscriber base consists of dormant accounts.
Active subscriber percentage by operator:
- Bharti Airtel: 98.96 per cent active
- Reliance Jio: 98.25 per cent active
- Vodafone Idea: 85.30 per cent active
- BSNL: 58.23 per cent active
Surge in Mobile Number Portability requests
Approximately 16.12 million subscribers submitted Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests in December. This represents over 1.2 per cent of the total subscriber base seeking improved service or better value within a single month.
Tele-density data highlights digital divide
One of the most notable findings in the Licensed Service Area (LSA) data is the wide disparity in tele-density across the country.
While the national average tele-density stands at 91.74 per cent, Delhi has reached 359.50 per cent.
However, the national average masks regional disparities. Nine LSAs remain below the national average, highlighting a persistent digital divide. While metropolitan areas inflate overall figures, rural regions such as Bihar (61.88 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh continue to struggle to cross the 70 per cent mark.
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