Summary:
India’s active mobile subscriber base, excluding M2M connections, increased by 0.9 million to 1,068 million in September 2026, according to Jefferies. Airtel lost 0.2 million active subscribers following tariff hikes, while Vodafone Idea’s subscriber losses moderated to 0.3 million, indicating possible stabilisation. Meanwhile, M2M connections grew by 4.3 million to reach 145 million, with Airtel holding around 61% market share. The home broadband base expanded by 0.6 million to 68.1 million, while mobile number portability requests reached 16.8 million, reflecting continued competition in the telecom sector.
According to a Jefferies report, India’s active mobile subscriber base, excluding machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, grew by 0.9 million in September to reach 1,068 million, compared with an increase of 0.8 million in August. The report highlighted initial indications that Vodafone Idea Limited’s (Vi) subscriber losses may be easing and expected Bharti Airtel’s subscriber additions to improve following the recent tariff hikes.
Bharti Airtel recorded a reduction of 0.2 million in its active mobile subscriber base in September, following targeted tariff revisions implemented in mid-August. Nevertheless, Jefferies expects its subscriber additions to pick up over the next few months, as most of the impact of the revised tariffs has already been absorbed. Airtel maintained an unchanged share of 37.5 per cent in the active mobile subscriber market.
Vodafone Idea continued to experience a decline in active mobile subscribers, losing 0.3 million connections during September. However, the reduction was smaller than its average monthly loss of 0.7 million recorded over the previous 12 months, suggesting that the pace of subscriber attrition could be slowing. Jefferies noted that expanding network sites may support the stabilisation of Vi’s subscriber base. It expects the company’s active mobile subscriber count, excluding M2M connections, to remain in the range of 171 million to 172 million during financial years 2026-27 (FY27) and 2027-28 (FY28).
Meanwhile, the telecom industry added 4.3 million M2M connections in September, marking the strongest monthly growth in six months. This figure was more than 4.5 times the additions recorded in the active mobile subscriber segment. The overall M2M subscriber base climbed to 145 million, with Airtel contributing 2.5 million new connections and maintaining an estimated 61 per cent market share. M2M connections represented nearly two-thirds of the industry’s total wireless subscriber additions during the month.
India’s home broadband customer base expanded by 0.6 million in September, taking the total to 68.1 million. Fixed wireless access and unlicensed band radio offerings together contributed 0.4 million new connections, representing more than half of the overall increase.
Requests for mobile number portability (MNP) also increased to 16.8 million in September, reflecting persistent competitive activity among telecom service providers. Jefferies noted that the upcoming months will be important in determining whether Airtel regains its subscriber addition momentum after the tariff revisions and whether Vi manages to maintain the slower pace of subscriber losses.
