In 2025, the Indian telecom sector witnessed a distinct shift in priorities. All telecom operators – Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) – pivoted from a focus on subscriber additions towards a “value-over-volume” strategy. This transition was driven by the emergence of 5G-Advanced technology, the commercialisation of network slicing, and the deep integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across both consumer and enterprise verticals.

A key trend of the year was the rise of fixed wireless access (FWA) as the primary vehicle for high speed home broadband, with Jio and Airtel collectively crossing the 10 million subscriber mark in this segment. This was driven by a slowdown in fibre deployments due to right-of-way challenges. Strategically, the industry also began preparing for a multilayered connectivity future through landmark partnerships with satellite players such as Starlink and the development of sovereign cloud platforms.

Financially, the sector demonstrated renewed resilience. Despite elevated debt levels, a series of tariff hikes and a diverse service mix drove the industry’s ARPU towards the critical Rs 200-250 threshold.

The government also played a stabilising role through regulatory agility, converting dues into equity for struggling players and increasing capital outlays for indigenous technology development. As the year came to a close, it laid the groundwork for 2026 to emerge as the year of monetisation, with heavy capital investments expected to translate into sustainable, high-margin revenue streams.

A look at the performance of telecom operators in 2025, and the key initiatives taken by them during the year…

Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio’s 2025 began on a high note, with it crossing the 500 million subscriber milestone. By December, Jio’s 5G user base surged past 250 million, accounting for a dominant 65 per cent of the industry’s total 5G footprint. Throughout the year, Jio captured 99 per cent of all incremental subscriber additions.

In terms of network deployment, Jio shifted its focus from coverage to a capability-driven strategy, with the most significant architectural win being the deployment of 10 live 5G network slices across the country. This move positioned the telco as a critical partner for industries looking at precision manufacturing and real-time data processing.

Meanwhile, JioAirFiber, the company’s FWA solution, became the first globally to scale to 10 million subscribers. This aggressive push into home broadband was aimed at driving customer stickiness, using high speed connectivity as a hook to pull households into a bundled ecosystem of digital entertainment and smart, home services.

The year also saw Reliance pivot towards AI. At the August 2025 AGM, the group announced the formation of Reliance Intelligence, a new entity designed to anchor the next phase of digital growth. To give this a consumer face, Jio partnered with Google to offer eligible users 18 months of free access to Google’s AI Pro plan. This “AI-as-a-service” model was also backed by massive physical infrastructure deployments. To this end, in November, Digital Connexion, Jio’s joint venture (JV) with Brookfield and Digital Realty), announced a 1 GW AI-native data centre campus in Visakhapatnam. Alongside the group’s existing plans in Jamnagar, Jio focused on building the heavy-duty compute power necessary to make India an AI powerhouse.

Jio’s connectivity also expanded during the year. In March 2025, the operator announced a landmark agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite broadband to India. While the Jio-SES JV awaits final clearances, the Starlink deal provides Jio with a high speed “extension layer” to reach the most underserved pockets of the subcontinent.

Financially, the scale-first approach is paying dividends. For the quarter ended September 2025, Jio reported a gross revenue of Rs 426.52 billion, a nearly 15 per cent year-on-year jump. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose even faster at 17.7 per cent, reflecting the efficiency of its 5G and AirFiber operations. This strong balance sheet sets the stage for the company’s next major move, a planned initial public offering (IPO) in the first half of 2026. The upcoming IPO is expected to be one of India’s largest-ever listings. Beyond the capital infusion, it will provide Jio with a market-validated valuation for its digital ecosystem, creating a dedicated engine for its future expansion.

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel devoted a large part of 2025 undertaking aggressive capital investments in 5G-Advanced and subsea cables while focusing on high-margin enterprise services and AI-driven consumer stickiness. By the end of the third quarter, the company had not only strengthened its network backbone but also redefined its identity through sovereign cloud capabilities and landmark global partnerships.

Airtel’s transition to 5G-Advanced in November marked a fundamental shift in its network philosophy. By deploying a dual-mode 5G network in select circles, Airtel effectively bridged the gap between non-standalone and standalone architectures. To ensure this network had the necessary access to spectrum, Airtel signed a deal to acquire 400 MHz of mmWave spectrum in the 26 GHz band from Adani Data Networks. This acquisition provided the capacity required to support high-throughput industrial use cases and the rapid expansion of FWA services.

FWA, in particular, evolved from a niche offering into a central pillar of Airtel’s home broadband strategy. To support this, the telco strengthened its partnership with Ericsson to modernise its core network, while simultaneously collaborating with Nokia and Qualcomm for enhanced Wi-Fi solutions.

Another major focus of Airtel’s efforts was strengthening the “Airtel Beyond” ecosystem. The company’s digital arm, Xtelify, took centre stage with the launch of Airtel Cloud, a sovereign, telco-grade platform designed for an era where data residency is a top-tier regulatory concern. A pivotal partnership in this regard was forged with IBM. By integrating IBM’s advanced infrastructure and AI-driven software, Airtel expanded its cloud footprint from four availability zones to 10, including critical multizone regions in Mumbai and Chennai. This set-up was purpose-built to handle the heavy lifting of enterprise AI workloads, positioning Airtel as a direct competitor to traditional hyperscalers within the Indian market.

The enterprise portfolio was further sharpened through specialised services that blended connectivity with high-end tech. In this regard, the strategic tie-up with Swift Navigation to launch the Airtel-Skylark precise positioning service was a prime example. By using AI and machine learning to refine satellite signals, the service offered centimetre-level accuracy, critical for drones, autonomous vehicles and precision logistics. On the international front, Xtelify’s reach was amplified through partnerships with Singtel, Globe Telecom and Airtel Africa, to effectively export Indian-built AI solutions to global markets.

In the consumer space, Airtel broke new ground by becoming the first Indian telco to sign an exclusive generative AI partnership with Perplexity. By offering these AI-powered search services at no extra cost, Airtel signalled a move towards offering AI-as-a-utility. This consumer focus promoted initiatives for building digital trust. The telco’s AI-powered spam detection system was upgraded to flag unwanted calls and messages in multiple Indian languages and extended to international traffic.

The year 2025 was also the year when Airtel expanded its role as a global data transit hub. The landing of the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable in Chennai in February, followed by the 2Africa Pearls in Mumbai in March, effectively strengthened India’s international connectivity. These subsea systems provided the new capacity required to link Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. This was complemented by a forward-looking agreement with SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite broadband to India. While still subject to regulatory approvals, the partnership served as an essential extension layer promising to deliver high speed access to the country’s most remote corners.

Perhaps the most significant development of the year was the landmark partnership with Google to develop India’s first mega AI hub in Visakhapatnam. With Google committing significant capital to data centre investments, and Airtel providing the underlying digital infrastructure and connectivity, the project represents strategic efforts to position India as a key player in the global AI supply chain.

Financially, the premiumisation strategy delivered results. By September, Airtel recorded its sixth consecutive quarter of profit growth, with profit before tax rising by over 80 per cent year on year. Moreover, the ARPU climbed to Rs 256. This was driven not only by tariff hikes, but a richer service mix as customers increasingly paid for the reliability of 5G-Advanced, FWA and bundled AI services.

Regulatory agility also supported Airtel’s finances as it prepaid nearly Rs 60 billion in spectrum liabilities and cleared dues related to the 2016 auction, thereby de-leveraging its balance sheet and freeing up cash for further reinvestment.

As the year came to an end, the partnership with Nokia in December to expose network capabilities via network-as-code pointed towards a future where developers can treat the Airtel network as a programmable platform.

Looking ahead towards 2026, Airtel’s focus is shifting from the heavy lifting of network roll-out to the complex task of 5G monetisation and structural ARPU growth. With a target of Rs 300 ARPU firmly in sight, the operator is expected to double down on premiumisation, leveraging its 5G-Advanced capabilities to offer tiered, quality-of-service-backed plans for gamers and power users. The enterprise segment will remain a primary engine, with Xtelify and Airtel Cloud scaling to meet the 1 GW AI-compute demand while the network-as-code initiative enables the industrialisation of network slicing.

Furthermore, 2026 will likely be the year satellite connectivity moves from the pilot phase to a commercial extension layer, as the partnership with Starlink potentially goes live. By balancing this technological edge with the disciplined financial deleveraging executed in late 2025, Airtel is shifting its focus from a volume-led to a value-led strategy.

Vi

Vi continued to operate under heavy legacy debt and capital constraints during 2025. Despite this, the telco demonstrated its resilience as the third pillar of India’s telecom trinity. Through a mix of strategic asset sales, equity conversions and a long-awaited 5G launch, Vi transitioned from a state of survival to one of targeted execution.

The telco’s financial narrative was anchored by a significant restructuring of the balance sheet. Following a stake sale in Firefly Networks and a fresh infusion from the Vodafone Group Plc, Vi cleared Rs 19.1 billion in dues to Indus Towers. However, the most defining shift occurred at the ownership level, with the conversion of government dues into equity, increasing the Indian government’s stake in the telco to a dominant 48.99 per cent. This move provided the stability needed for Vi to finally roll out its 5G network.

Launched in March 2025, Vi’s 5G footprint initially targeted high-value circles in Maharashtra and Karnataka before expanding to major cities across 17 states. A highlight of this roll-out was the targeted deployment of 5G sites and Cells on Wheels at major cricket stadiums, ensuring seamless connectivity during peak traffic demands.

Beyond 5G, Vi focused on 4G densification. By September 2025, 4G population coverage crossed 84 per cent, supported by the addition of 6,300 new towers and a massive deployment of sub-GHz 900 MHz spectrum to improve indoor penetration. This network expansion was complemented by the evolution of digital services.

Vi launched “Vi Finance” on its app, offering personal loans and credit cards, while an industry-first handset loss insurance programme added a layer of consumer stickiness that helped nudge ARPU upward to Rs 180.

In the enterprise and security domains, Vi Business successfully carved out a niche in the AI market. From launching an internet of things (IoT) innovation lab with Amazon Web Services and the Centre for Development of Telematics to planning a dedicated enterprise corridor across India’s tech hubs, the focus remained on high-growth verticals like smart metering. Security also became a front-facing consumer feature with “Vi Protect”, an AI-powered system designed to flag spam voice calls in real time. The dual focus on enterprise reliability and consumer trust proved critical in maintaining a subscriber base of 127.75 million by late 2025.

The regulatory horizon also cleared significantly towards the end of the year. Following a Supreme Court decision in November 2025, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) began a reassessment of Vi’s AGR liabilities. The resulting relief was a structured, long-term repayment schedule stretching until 2041, replacing a looming financial hurdle with a manageable, predictable payout mechanism. This regulatory breathing room has enabled Vi to shift its focus from legal fire fighting to network building.

Providing a timely tailwind to this recovery was the recent Union Budget 2026-27, which delivered a significant fillip to Vi’s revamp strategy. The government’s decision to waive certain customs duties on telecom equipment and the continued push for Digital India infrastructure incentives have directly lowered the cost of 5G gear procurement.

Entering 2026, Vi’s road map is clear –  expand 4G coverage to 90 per cent, scale 5G into a competitive nationwide offering and leverage its newfound financial stability to regain market momentum. With the AGR burden restructured and the budget providing a lower-cost path to expansion, Vi is no longer merely a spectator in India’s digital race; it is once again a contender.

BSNL and MTNL

For the PSUs, the year proved quite divergent. While BSNL accelerated its indigenous technology mandate in 2025, MTNL remained entrenched in a cycle of debt stress and asset monetisation. One operator moved towards a high-tech quantum future, while the other focused on financial survival through the strategic sale of legacy real estate.

BSNL’s narrative centred on the aggressive roll-out of its indigenous 4G stack. By October 2025, the operator had deployed over 97,000 indigenous 4G sites nationwide, with significant activity across Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. This effort was supported by a TCS-anchored consortium and a Rs 69.82 billion capital expenditure. Beyond coverage expansion, BSNL laid the foundation for its 5G future, branding its upcoming services as quantum 5G and conducting successful SIM-less FWA trials. This technological drive began to reflect in the numbers, as ARPU rose to Rs 92 during the second quarter of the fiscal year.

The pace of roll-out was relentless from the start. In February, BSNL announced 5,000 indigenous sites in Kerala, followed by the commissioning of critical towers in the remote areas of Chhattisgarh.

By mid-year, DoT had allocated 5G spectrum valued at Rs 610 billion, allowing BSNL to formalise its quantum branding. Hyderabad became a primary validation ground, where 75 per cent of towers were upgraded to 4G, and standalone 5G core architecture demonstrations showcased the potential of an indigenous network-as-a-service framework.

In the second half of 2025, BSNL diversified its service portfolio. It partnered with Tanla Platforms to deploy an AI-driven anti-spam solution and introduced e-SIM services in Tamil Nadu. The operator also prepared tenders for hundreds of thousands of additional 4G sites, strictly restricted to Indian vendors. Infrastructure investment remained a priority under the Digital Bharat Nidhi programme, with investments undertaken in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu to bridge the connectivity gap in rural and Naxal-affected areas.

In sharp contrast, MTNL’s year was defined by a struggle to manage over
Rs 80 billion in loan defaults and interest obligations. By July 2025, the operator had flagged sustained principal and interest defaults across multiple banks and sovereign-backed bonds. Regulatory compliance also surfaced as a challenge, with penalties imposed by the National Stock Exchange for SEBI non-compliance. Despite these hurdles, the government reiterated that it is not planning to privatise the PSUs, and is instead leveraging asset monetisation for primary revival. A milestone in this strategy was the December 2025 board approval to sell residential property in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex to NABARD for Rs 3.5 billion.

Policy developments continued to shape the PSU landscape. A framework was approved to allow government organisations to acquire assets held by BSNL and MTNL without an auction, expediting the monetisation of land, buildings and fibre.

Looking ahead to 2026, the PSUs are preparing for a shift in scale. BSNL is expected to award BharatNet Phase III contracts to connect over 0.6 million villages by 2028, with the aim to narrow India’s digital divide. The operator is also developing an AI-based system to automatically resolve network faults. Following successful pilots, a nationwide roll-out of Wi-Fi Calling and a commercial 5G launch in Delhi are anticipated by early 2026.

For MTNL, the coming year is likely to remain centred on government-led interventions and accelerated restructuring, as the PSU seeks to clear up its balance sheets and stabilise its operational footprint.

By balancing these large-scale roll-out targets with a renewed focus on service assurance, BSNL is attempting to transition from a legacy provider into a modern, indigenous technology leader. While MTNL’s turnaround remains closely tied to policy support, BSNL’s 2025 performance suggests that the public sector is finally building the muscle required to compete in India’s ever-changing telecom landscape.

Moving ahead

As it steps into 2026, the Indian telecom sector stands at a pivotal juncture. The narrative has successfully evolved from a survival-driven market to a technology-first duopoly-plus-one dynamic. The dominance of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel in the 5G and enterprise segments has stabilised the industry’s pricing discipline, while the resilience of Vi and the resurgence of BSNL through its indigenous 4G/5G stack ensure that India remains a competitive, multiplayer market.

The year 2026 is poised to be defined by three major developments. First, the upcoming IPO of Reliance Jio is expected to mark a watershed moment for Indian capital markets, potentially valuing the operator at over $100 billion and providing a market-validated benchmark for the country’s digital ecosystem. Second, the commercialisation of satcom services will move from the pilot phase to a functional extension layer, finally bringing high speed data to the most remote areas in the country.

Third, the industry’s focus is expected to sharpen on network-as-code. By treating the network as a programmable platform, operators are opening the doors for a new wave of industrial AI applications, from autonomous precision logistics to real-time remote surgery. Supported by tailwinds from the Union Budget 2026-27, including reduced procurement costs and a substantial Rs 739.9 billion outlay for the Ministry of Communications, the financial constraints of the past are slowly being replaced by a clear runway for growth.