According to a report by Centrum, India’s telecom sector delivered an inline performance in the first quarter (Q1) of financial year 2025-26 (FY26), marked by steady subscriber additions and progress on 5G rollouts. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) focused on network expansion and retention, while tower and digital service providers also posted stable growth.
Reliance Jio led with 9.9 million new subscribers, taking its base to 498.1 million. Bharti Airtel added 1.2 million users, supported by 3.9 million smartphone additions, boosting its 5G base to 152 million. Vi lost 0.5 million subscribers but added 1 million 4G customers, lifting its 4G/5G base to 127.4 million.
The report also mentioned that average revenue per user (ARPU) trends remained firm. Airtel held the lead at Rs 250, Jio rose to Rs 209, and Vi inched up to Rs 165. Jio’s 5G users climbed to 213 million, while Airtel closed the quarter with 152 million. Airtel also recorded its highest broadband net adds at 0.94 million, including 0.54 million through FWA. Meanwhile, Jio crossed 20 million home connections, adding 2.6 million in the quarter, with JioAirFiber capturing over 80 per cent market share. Vi expanded 5G to Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Patna, targeting pan-India coverage by August 2025.
Further, in the tower space, Indus Towers reported strong execution with 2,468 new macro towers and 5,777 co-locations, taking its portfolio to about 251,800 towers and 411,200 co-locations. Solarization also advanced with 2,250 new sites, reaching a total of 32,000.
Furthermore, the report highlighted that among digital service providers, Tata Communications posted revenue of Rs 59.6 billion, up 5.8 per cent year-on-year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins improving to 19.1 per cent. Other players, including Indiamart, Info Edge, Nazara Technologies, MapmyIndia, and Emudhra, showed mixed results, though digital adoption remained a common growth driver.
