Reliance Jio takes biggest share with 1.9 million as India adds 2.2 million subscribers in September

Reliance Jio continued its dominant run across India’s telecommunications sector in September, adding up 1.9 million mobile subscribers (excluding machine-to-machine connections) and capturing the lion’s share of the industry's monthly growth. According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data analysed by brokerages DAM Capital and IIFL Capital, the Indian telecom sector added a net total of 2.2 million mobile subscribers during the month. The expansion lifted the nation’s total wireless subscriber base (excluding M2M connections) to 1.155 billion, marking a year-on-year addition of 22.8 million users.Jio pulls ahead Airtel and ViJio’s September performance mirrored its August numbers. The telecom giant added 1.9 million core mobile users, taking its total mobile base to approximately 483 million. On an annual basis, Jio has added 17.4 million users.For Bharti Airtel, net additions dropped to 200,000, bringing its total mobile base to 406 million. Its year-on-year growth stood at 13.3 million. Vodafone Idea (Vi) continued to bleed users, with underlying losses widening to 300,000 (260,000 based on IIFL Capital's specific breakdown) compared to a loss of 140,000 in August.State-run BSNL maintained positive momentum, adding roughly 500,000 mobile subscribers for the second consecutive month, cushioning Vi's losses and lifting total industry tallies.Jio vs Airtel vs Vi: Active subscriber gainsThe gap between operators grew even more apparent in Visitor Location Register (VLR) data, which measures active network connections. Jio gained 1.3 million active VLR subscribers during September; in contrast, Airtel shed 200,000 active users, while Vodafone Idea lost 300,000. Across the entire telecom landscape, the core VLR base expanded by 600,000.When it comes to wired and fixed-broadband, Jio also outpaced Airtel, adding roughly 400,000 connections in September compared to Airtel’s 200,000. India's total home broadband base grew by 600,000 to reach 68.1 million users, though both operators experienced a mild slowdown from the monthly additions of over one million recorded in prior periods.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.