India's internet subscribers cross 1.09 billion mark in March 2026

India's internet subscribers surpassed 1,092 million in the March 2026 quarter, a 6.24% quarterly growth, TRAI reports. Total telecom subscribers hit 1,330.58 million, with tele-density at 93.26% and ARPU rising to Rs.196.04.

Internet Subscriber Growth

India's digital base expanded further in the March quarter, with total internet subscribers crossing 1,092 million, TRAI said in its Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators report for Jan-Mar 2026.

The report said the total number of Internet subscribers increased from 1028.61 million at the end of Dec-25 to 1092.79 million at the end of Mar-26, registering a quarterly growth rate of 6.24 per cent. Of these, wireless internet subscribers stood at 1,046.26 million, while wired subscribers were 46.54 million.

Broadband and Telecom Subscriber Base

Broadband continued to drive growth. The broadband internet subscriber base increased by 5.81 per cent from 1007.35 million at the end of Dec-25 to 1065.88 million at the end of Mar-26. Narrowband subscribers also rose sharply by 26.62 per cent to 26.91 million. TRAI classified the overall internet base as 1065.88 million broadband and 26.91 million narrowband subscribers.

On the telecom front, total subscribers, including wireless and wireline, stood at 1,330.58 million as of 31st March 2026, up 1.87 per cent over the previous quarter. Wireless subscribers accounted for 1,282.33 million, while wireline subscribers grew 1.86 per cent to 48.25 million. Overall tele-density improved to 93.26 per cent, with urban tele-density at 151.47 per cent and rural tele-density at 60.46 per cent.

Key Usage and Revenue Metrics

Usage metrics also strengthened. TRAI reported a monthly ARPU of wireless service at Rs.196.04, up 0.76 per cent from Rs.194.57 in Dec-25. Minutes of usage per subscriber per month for wireless service stood at 1,017. Average wireless data usage per wireless data subscriber was 26.70 GB per month, with average revenue realisation per GB at Rs.7.51.

Industry Revenue Performance

Gross Revenue (GR) during the quarter came in at Rs.1,05,118 crore, up 2.58 per cent over the previous quarter, while Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) rose 2.90 per cent to Rs.86,716 crore. (ANI)

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