There have been quite a few positive developments in the telecom sector in the past 18 months. The reduction in competitive intensity has enabled operators to make calibrated tariff hikes, boosting average revenue per user (ARPU).

Satellite broadband is expected to roll out in the next six months, improving coverage in remote areas. A judgment by the Delhi High Court in August 2025 allowing input tax credits on telecom towers will help reduce tax outgo considerably. The draft New Telecom Policy, 2025 lays out an ambitious road map for the future.

The four major operators – Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea (Vi) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) – have released their results for the April-June 2025 quarter (Q1 FY 2026) as well as for the previous financial year (FY 2025). The sector’s changing environment is reflected in the results.

Airtel and Jio have completed a large part of their 5G network roll-outs. Meanwhile, Vi has just started this process. Airtel, Jio and BSNL are generating new revenue streams from the provision of broadband, leveraging fixed wireless access (FWA) technology and fibre.

All four operators have seen a rise in ARPUs. Airtel and Jio have reported a healthy growth in revenues and profits. BSNL shows some signs of turning around, with a reduction in reported losses and a couple of profitable quarters. Vi also shows some improvement in operational performance. However, Vi and BSNL are both still on the edge of insolvency. Vi needs to raise cash for its ongoing and future capital expenditure, and it is still trying to negotiate a government bailout, or judicial relief, for a large portion of its outstanding dues.

Going forward, what the government decides to do with BSNL, of which it has 100 per cent ownership, remains a question mark. It will need to find a way to put Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (a listed entity run by the government, which owns the majority stake) and BSNL (unlisted) on a stronger footing, while also improving the operational efficiency of the two PSUs. Projects such as BharatNet and related rural connectivity initiatives are dependent on BSNL’s performance.

The following is a brief review of the four operators’ recent results.

Jio Platforms

The big news about Jio is the announcement that the Reliance Group intends to hive off the digital businesses organised under Jio Platforms Limited (JPL) and list the entity by early 2026. Jio Platforms owns India’s largest telco, as it is the holding company of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited. Jio Platforms, in which parent Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) owns 67.03 per cent, is tentatively valued at nearly Rs 12 trillion ($135 billion). The initial public offering could well be the biggest ever, potentially raising up to Rs 300 billion. More details on the financials will emerge once the paperwork is filed.

JPL is a subsidiary of RIL. The parent company has presented some details and a consolidated picture of JPL, which includes the Homes and FWA businesses.  In Q1 FY 2026, JPL reported a revenue of Rs 410.54 billion, up 18.8 per cent year on year compared to Q1 FY            2025. The operating profit, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), was reported at Rs 181.35 billion, up 23.9 per cent year on year. Net profit after tax rose to Rs 71.1 billion, up 24.8 per cent year on year.

JPL has 498 million subscribers, with a net addition of 9.9 million in Q1 FY 2026. The management claims it was a “milestone quarter”, with 5G subscribers crossing 210 million and the Home Connects business over 20 million. JioAirFiber, which has 7.4 million subscribers, is reportedly the world’s largest FWA service, and Home Connects is growing at over 1 million per month. All technology businesses are clustered under JPL, and the latest additions include JioGames Cloud (a platform for games) and JioPC (which transforms any screen linked to a Jio device into a cloud-based PC). The per capita data consumption was 37 GB per month, and total data traffic growth was 24 per cent year on year during Q1 FY 2026.

There was an acceleration in sequential revenue generation in Q4 FY 2025, with revenue rising 17.8 per cent. Profit margins also improved, as EBITDA increased 16.8 per cent in Q4 FY 2025 to Rs 170 billion and grew further by 24.8 per cent in Q1 FY 2026. The ARPU hit Rs 208.80, up 15 per cent year on year, compared to  Rs 206.20 in Q4 FY 2025.

Bharti Airtel and Hexacom

The Bharti Group provides telecom services across 17 countries (in two of these nations, it provides services through associate operators). The consolidated revenues were reported at Rs 494.63 billion in Q1 FY 2026, up 28.5 per cent year on year. The EBITDA stood at Rs 281.67 billion in Q1 FY 2026 compared to Rs 199 billion in Q1 FY 2025, up 41 per cent. The EBITDA margin (EBITDA as a percentage of revenues) increased to 56.9 per cent in Q1 FY 2026, compared to 51.8 per cent in Q1 FY 2025. The net profit (before exceptional items) was Rs 59.48 billion in Q1 FY 2026 compared to Rs 29.25 billion in Q1 FY 2025, up 103 per cent.

The India operations reported revenues at Rs 375.85 billion in Q1 FY 2026, up 16 per cent year on year. The India EBITDA stood at Rs 223.52 billion in Q1 FY 2026 compared to Rs 186.8 billion in Q1 FY 2025, up 20 per cent year on year. The EBITDA margin was 59.5 per cent in Q1 FY 2026, as against 57.7 per cent in Q1 FY 2025. Mobile revenues were up 21.6 per cent year on year, with ARPU hitting Rs 250 in Q1 FY 2026 compared to Rs 211 in Q1 FY 2025.

The India mobile customer base was at 280.7 million in Q1 FY 2026, up 21.3 million year on year, and mobile data traffic grew 21.6 per cent. The Homes revenue was up 25.7 per cent year on year, with a net customer addition of 3 million. The overall customer base in India is around 363 million, with data usage at around 27 GB per month. The total customer base across 15 nations is 605 million.

However, Airtel Business witnessed a revenue drop of 7.7 per cent year on year in Q1 FY 2026. Importantly, capex for India came down 14 per cent to Rs 72.7 billion from Rs 85 billion a year ago. Capex in Africa also dropped by 18 per cent. This is a sign that 5G network roll-outs are largely done and capex intensity may continue to fall going forward, resulting in higher cash flow.

Airtel released an innovative artificial intelligence-powered platform for spam control and collaborative fraud detection, which sends alerts in nine languages. Bharti Airtel Limited and its subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited have also signed agreements with Adani Data Networks Limited to acquire rights to spectrum across six Indian states, pending regulatory approvals.

Vodafone Idea

Vi’s revenue for Q1 FY 2026 was Rs 110.2 billion, a 4.9 per cent year-on-year growth. The reported EBITDA was Rs 46.1 billion, up 9.6 per cent year on year. The reported net loss was Rs 66 billion, compared to Rs 64.3 billion in Q1 FY 2025. The ARPU stood at Rs 177 (against Rs 154 in Q1 FY 2025), a 15 per cent year-on-year growth. The 4G and 5G subscriber base (combined) increased to 127.4 million, up from 126.7 million in Q1 FY 2025. The total subscriber base stood at 197.7 million. There was a subscriber decline of 0.5 million in Q1 FY 2026, much lower than the 5 million losses suffered in each of the previous four quarters.

The capex for the quarter stood at Rs 24.4 billion, and the bank debt stands at Rs 19.3 billion. Vi has rolled out 5G in 22 cities across 13 circles and is looking to raise debt to fund a Rs 550 billion capex, aimed at expanding 5G coverage across all circles. It is entering into a partnership with AST SpaceMobile to bring direct-to-device satellite broadband connectivity to remote areas. The major challenge is Vi’s outstanding debt of Rs 1.19 trillion in deferred payments for spectrum and another Rs 760 billion for adjusted gross revenue (AGR). Vi cannot realistically service this debt without a bailout, or forbearance from the government, or judicial relief.

BSNL 

BSNL reported revenues and other income amounting to Rs 57.9 billion in Q1 FY 2026, a 22.6 per cent growth year on year from Rs 47.2 billion in Q1 FY 2025. EBITDA in Q1 FY 2026 was Rs 15 billion, which was 334 per cent more than the Rs 3.45 billion reported in Q1 FY 2025. Net loss was Rs 10.5 billion, which was less than the net loss of Rs 15.4 billion reported in Q1 FY 2025.

Q1 FY 2026 was disappointing, as the company had recorded a profit of Rs 2.8 billion in Q4 FY 2025 when it registered revenues and other income of Rs 78.2 billion. The PSU suffered Rs 24.4 billion in losses in FY 2025, which was much lower than the Rs 53.7 billion in losses it reported in FY 2024. There are early signs of a turnaround in terms of reduced losses. BSNL has around 90 million subscribers, and ARPU is reported to vary widely from circle to circle, dropping as low as Rs 45 in some circles and rising to around Rs 175 at best. It has only recently launched 4G and started to offer FWA services on a pilot basis.

Clearly, Jio and Bharti are well ahead of Vi and BSNL in terms of revenue and subscriber base. Moreover, Jio and Bharti are profitable, with excellent EBITDA margins, while Vi and BSNL are loss-making entities. Vi’s huge debt burden puts a question mark on its future, even though it is operationally profitable. BSNL must improve its operational efficiency if it is to remain competitive.

Devangshu Datta