TRAI Data: India Telecom Subscribers at 1,367.93 Million in September 2026
Why in the news
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its telecom subscription data for September 2026 on 27 October 2026, showing India’s telephone base rising to 1,367.93 million.
Key facts
- Total telephone subscribers: 1,367.93 million, up by a net 7.23 million in September (monthly growth 0.53%).
- Wireless vs wireline: 1,319.19 million wireless and 48.74 million wireline connections.
- Teledensity: 95.52% overall including M2M cellular; 85.41% when M2M cellular is excluded.
- Broadband: 1,107.68 million subscribers including M2M cellular and 1,013.87 million without it.
- Urban-rural split: urban areas held 59.05% of subscribers and rural areas 40.95%.
- MNP: 16.77 million porting requests were received during the month.
- Active wireless users on the peak VLR day were 1,212.80 million.
Urban and rural comparison
| Segment | Subscribers (million) | Net addition (million) | Teledensity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban | 807.78 | 5.50 | 155.85% |
| Rural | 560.16 | 1.73 | 61.30% |
| Total | 1,367.93 | 7.23 | 95.52% |
About TRAI subscription data
TRAI publishes monthly figures on telephone and broadband subscribers, teledensity and number portability. Teledensity figures are now also reported with and without machine-to-machine (M2M) cellular connections, which inflate the headline numbers.
Exam angle
- Remember the total base (1,367.93 million) and overall teledensity (95.52%).
- Urban teledensity (155.85%) is far above rural teledensity (61.30%), a key digital-divide indicator.
- Broadband users excluding M2M: 1,013.87 million.