Reliance Jio Extends Lead Over Airtel as Subscriber Gains Continue

Reliance Jio continued to strengthen its position as India’s largest telecom operator in November 2025. The company led the industry in both overall wireless subscriber additions and active user growth, according to the latest data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The numbers underline Jio’s steady momentum at a time when the broader telecom sector faced a decline in active users.

Jio Adds Subscribers While Industry Sees Decline

TRAI data shows that Reliance Jio added nearly 1.2 million wireless subscribers in November. This marked the ninth straight month in which Jio outperformed Bharti Airtel in net additions.

During the same period, the total number of active wireless users in the country fell by about 3.4 million, taking the overall base to nearly 1,091 million. While most major operators lost active users, Jio stood out as the only company to post net gains.

Vodafone Idea recorded a sharp decline of around 2.2 million active subscribers. Bharti Airtel also saw its active user base fall by nearly 1.7 million during the month.

Market Share Gains Across Telecom Circles

Jio’s subscriber growth translated into clear market share gains. The operator increased its Visitor Location Register (VLR) share in 17 out of 22 telecom circles across India.

The strongest growth came from Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, where Jio made notable inroads. According to Morgan Stanley, Jio’s overall wireless market share rose to 43.7 per cent in November, a month-on-month increase of 25 basis points.

At the same time, all other major telecom operators lost market share. This trend narrowed the active subscriber gap between Jio and Bharti Airtel to its lowest level so far.

Strong Lead in Broadband and Fixed Wireless Access

Jio also extended its dominance in the broadband segment. The company accounted for nearly 68 per cent of all broadband additions during the month. These included mobile broadband, fixed wireless access (FWA), and unlicensed band radio (UBR) users.

Jio’s edge over Airtel largely came from its aggressive UBR expansion, which added about 0.35 million users in November alone.

In the fixed wireless access space, Jio continued to scale faster than its rivals. Morgan Stanley noted that Jio added nearly 2.5 times more FWA users compared to Airtel when both 5G FWA and UBR connections were considered.

While both Jio and Airtel added around 0.25 million 5G FWA subscribers each, Jio’s additional UBR growth helped it consolidate leadership in home broadband services.

Outlook Remains Positive for the Telecom Sector

Despite the drop in active users in November, the telecom sector’s cumulative active subscriber additions for calendar year 2025 remain at a nine-year high.

Industry analysts expect continued subscriber growth and rising data usage to support future increases in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). With fewer players and stable competition, the overall market structure remains favourable for sustained growth.

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