India has witnessed a surge in the number of broadband subscribers, marking an increase from 876.53 million in August 2023 to 885 million by the end of September 2023, reflecting a monthly growth rate of 0.97 percent.

India’s broadband market – including wired and wireless broadband — was largely dominated by the top five service providers, constituting a staggering 98.35 percent share of the total broadband subscribers by September-23, TRAI report said recently.

Reliance Jio Infocomm has emerged as the frontrunner among service providers, boasting 458.96 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 257.59 million, Vodafone Idea with 126.51 million, BSNL with 25.12 million, and Atria Convergence with 2.20 million.

Breaking down the broadband landscape, as of September 30, 2023, the top five wired broadband service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm leading with 9.75 million subscribers, followed by Bharti Airtel with 7.03 million, BSNL with 3.71 million, Atria Convergence Technologies with 2.20 million, and Hathway Cable & Datacom with 1.12 million subscribers.

On the wireless broadband front, the top five providers included Reliance Jio Infocom with a whopping 449.21 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 250.57 million, Vodafone Idea with 126.50 million, BSNL with 21.41 million, and Intech Online with 0.24 million subscribers.

Wireline subscribers saw a marginal rise from 30.78 million in August-23 to 30.98 million in September-23, with a net increase of 0.20 million and a monthly growth rate of 0.66 percent. Urban subscribers dominated this category, constituting 91.35 percent compared to rural subscribers at 8.65 percent.

India’s wireline tele-density grew from 2.21 percent to 2.22 percent by September-23, with urban and rural wireline tele-density reaching 5.74 percent and 0.30 percent, respectively.

India’s total wireless subscribers expanded from 1,148.43 million to 1,150.15 million, marking a monthly growth rate of 0.15 percent. Both urban and rural areas saw an increase in wireless subscriptions, with 630.17 million and 519.99 million subscribers, respectively, showcasing growth rates of 0.12 percent and 0.18 percent.

The wireless tele-density in India ascended from 82.48 percent to 82.54 percent during the same period. Urban wireless tele-density slightly dipped from 127.84 percent to 127.81 percent, while rural tele-density grew from 57.67 percent to 57.75 percent. Urban subscribers accounted for 54.79 percent of total wireless subscribers, with rural subscribers making up the remaining 45.21 percent by the end of September-23.

The TRAI report said 12.65 million subscribers initiated Mobile Number Portability (MNP) requests in September 2023 alone, leading to a cumulative increase from 877.43 million to 890.08 million since the inception of MNP.