New Delhi [India], August 20 : India's telecom sector reported an inline performance in the first quarter of FY26, with steady subscriber additions and continued execution on 5G rollouts, according to a Centrum report. The top operators, namely, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, focused on network expansion and subscriber retention, while tower and digital service providers also reported stable growth.
As per the report, Reliance Jio led subscriber additions with 9.9 million new customers, taking its base to 498.1 million. Bharti Airtel added 1.2 million customers in its India wireless business, supported by 3.9 million smartphone additions, which helped raise its 5G user base to 152 million. Vodafone Idea, however, saw a net loss of 0.5 million subscribers, though its 4G net adds stood at 1 million, raising its 4G/5G base to 127.4 million.
Average revenue per user (ARPU), a key industry benchmark, showed steady improvement. Airtel maintained leadership at Rs. 250 per month, up 2 per cent quarter-on-quarter, aided by smartphone adoption and postpaid upgrades.
Jio's ARPU rose 1.3 per cent to Rs. 209 per month, supported by its richer customer mix and strong fixed wireless access (FWA) adoption. Vodafone Idea's ARPU inched up to Rs. 165 from Rs. 164 in the previous quarter, reflecting gradual improvement in customer quality.
5G adoption continued to accelerate across the sector. Reliance Jio reached 213 million 5G subscribers, while Airtel closed the quarter with 152 million. Airtel also reported its highest ever broadband net additions at 0.94 million, including 0.54 million through FWA, and 0.7 million new postpaid users.
Meanwhile, Jio crossed 20 million home connections, adding 2.6 million during the quarter, with JioAirFiber holding over 80 per cent market share. Vodafone Idea expanded 5G services to Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Patna, and plans to cover all 17 spectrum circles by August 2025.
In the tower segment, Indus Towers posted healthy execution with revenue growth driven by 2,468 new macro towers and 5,777 co-locations. Its total portfolio reached around 251,800 towers and 411,200 co-locations. The company also made progress on solarization, with over 2,250 sites added in the quarter, taking the total to 32,000.
Among digital service providers, Tata Communications reported revenue of Rs. 59.6 billion, down 0.5 per cent sequentially but up 5.8 per cent year-on-year, supported by strong growth in cloud, security, and connectivity services. Its EBITDA margin improved to 19.1 per cent.
Other players such as Indiamart, Info Edge, Nazara Technologies, MapmyIndia, and Emudhra delivered mixed results, with digital adoption driving growth despite varied quarterly performances.
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