India’s total telephone connections rose to 136.79 crore in September 2026, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on October 27. The number of connections increased by approximately 72.3 lakh during the month. The report also highlighted a significant gap between urban and rural areas in telecom penetration, while broadband connections continued to increase and Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel maintained their leading positions in the market.
According to TRAI’s report, India had 136.07 crore telephone connections at the end of August 2026. The number rose to 136.79 crore by the end of September, marking a monthly increase of 0.53%.
The country’s overall tele-density also increased from 95.07% in August to 95.52% in September. Tele-density refers to the number of telephone connections per 100 people and includes mobile, landline and other relevant connections.
The number of connections does not necessarily correspond to the number of individual users, as one person may hold two or more SIM cards. The report also includes machine-to-machine (M2M) connections.
Urban areas continued to account for a larger share of India’s telephone connections than rural areas. At the end of September, urban areas had approximately 80.77 crore connections, representing 59.05% of the national total.
Rural areas recorded around 56.01 crore connections, accounting for 40.95% of the total. During September, urban areas added approximately 55 lakh connections, compared with around 17.3 lakh in rural areas.
The difference in tele-density between the two regions was also substantial. Urban areas recorded approximately 156 connections per 100 people, while the figure for rural areas stood at around 61.
Among states and telecom circles, Delhi recorded the highest tele-density at 375.65%. The Delhi telecom circle also includes mobile connections from certain areas of Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad.
The Bihar telecom circle recorded a tele-density of 64.49%, the lowest in the country. The circle also includes Jharkhand. The figures highlight differences in the availability of telephone connections across regions.
Wireless connections increased to 131.92 crore in September. The category includes mobile and fixed wireless access services.
Reliance Jio ranked first, with approximately 51.11 crore mobile connections and a market share of 39.32%. Bharti Airtel followed with around 49.43 crore connections and a market share of 38.02%.
However, Airtel recorded a higher proportion of active mobile connections. According to the report, 98.94% of the company’s connections were active.
Approximately 1.68 crore customers also applied to port their mobile numbers in September.
India’s broadband connections increased from approximately 110.12 crore in August to 110.77 crore in September. Reliance Jio ranked first in the broadband market, followed by Bharti Airtel.
Connections under 5G fixed wireless access (FWA), also known as AirFiber, increased by 1.13% to approximately 1.36 crore. Jio accounted for around 95.2 lakh of these connections, while Airtel had approximately 40.9 lakh.
The technology delivers internet connectivity to homes and offices through mobile networks, reducing the need to install traditional fibre-optic cables at every location.
TRAI’s September 2026 data recorded increases in telephone and broadband connections across the country, while highlighting the continuing gap in tele-density between urban and rural areas. The full report and subsequent monthly data are available on TRAI’s official website.
