Airtel outpaces Jio for third straight month; Vodafone Idea stabilises in March

Bharti Airtel outpaced Reliance Jio in wireless net additions for the third consecutive month, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Airtel added 4.32 million wireless subscribers during the month, compared to Jio’s 3.67 million.

This three-month cycle represents a significant reversal of the trend seen throughout last year, with Airtel consistently maintaining a higher growth rate in the wireless segment during the first quarter of this year.

The data for March also showed signs of stabilisation for Vodafone Idea (Vi), which reported a notable departure from heavy attrition despite a marginal decline of 0.45 million wireless subscribers. While the operator continues to manage churn, its broadband base stood at 128.91 million, trailing behind Jio’s 523.44 million and Airtel’s 368.84 million. Airtel continues to lead in subscriber quality with a peak VLR (active subscriber) ratio of 99.24%.

Rural markets take the lead

A significant portion of the country’s overall subscriber growth is now originating from the hinterlands, where the pace of expansion has overtaken urban centers. Rural wireless subscriptions increased by 4.04 million in March — a growth rate of 0.74%, which outpaced the 0.68% growth recorded in urban areas. This has pushed rural tele-density to 60.46%, up from 59.83% at the start of the year.

Ruling the roost in these markets is Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), which is growing at a faster clip than traditional wireline fibre. The 5G FWA base reached 12.32 million in March, showing near-parity between rural and urban adoption.

Commenting on the growth trend of M2M Prashant Singhal, India Clients & Industries leader said, "The Indian telecoms sector is witnessing robust growth in connections driven by 5G adoption and surge in M2M applications. The M2M market is growing owing to surge in smart metering and automotive telematics (connected vehicles). Approximately 30% of new vehicles sold in India in 2025 had embedded SIMs. On the other hand, over 50 million smart meters were installed at the end of 2025. Cellular M2M connections are expected to cross 200 million by 2026."

The overall industry growth was bolstered by a surge in machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, which reached 118.47 million by February, where Airtel maintains a dominant 62.03% market share.