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Digital access, devices and internet use · data and analysis

How to read India’s mobile and broadband subscriber totals

TRAI’s August 2026 figures distinguish broadband, telephone subscriptions and M2M connections. Learn what each count can establish.

PopulationIndia · independent analysisSources reviewed 11 October 2026

At the end of August 2026, TRAI reported 1,312.25 million wireless telephone subscriptions. Its definition includes machine-to-machine cellular connections and fixed wireless access. The scale is substantial, but the unit is a subscription rather than a unique resident.

The checked figures

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

MeasureValueWho or what is counted?Period and evidence
Wireless telephone subscriptions, including M2M and fixed wireless accessIndia · Digital access, devices and internet use1,312.25million subscriptionsWireless subscriber base reported by telecom service providers to TRAI31 August 2026
Official source ↗Page 1, highlights table, Total Telephone Subscribers / Wireless column and * footnote
Definition and limits

Includes machine-to-machine cellular connections and fixed wireless access. Multiple connections may belong to one person or organisation. These are not 1,312.25 million unique people.

Broadband subscriptions excluding M2M cellular mobile connectionsIndia · Digital access, devices and internet use1,010.28million subscriptionsBroadband connections reported by telecom service providers; M2M cellular mobile connections excluded31 August 2026
Official source ↗Page 1, highlights table, Broadband Subscribers without M2M cellular mobile connections / Total column
Definition and limits

Still a connection count, not unique people or households. Includes wireless and wireline broadband; one user can hold more than one connection.

Telephone density excluding M2M cellular mobile connectionsIndia · Digital access, devices and internet use85.26subscriptions per 100 projected peopleReported telephone subscriptions divided by TRAI’s projected population denominator31 August 2026
Official source ↗Page 1, highlights table, Tele-density without M2M cellular mobile connections / Total column and @ footnote
Definition and limits

An administrative subscription-to-population ratio, not the percentage of people who own phones. Do not cap values at 100 or combine service-area geographies with state data without checking definitions.

Telephone density including M2M cellular mobile connectionsIndia · Digital access, devices and internet use95.07subscriptions per 100 projected peopleReported telephone subscriptions divided by TRAI’s projected population denominator31 August 2026
Official source ↗Page 1, highlights table, Overall Tele-density with M2M / Total column and @ footnote
Definition and limits

Includes machine-to-machine connections. Rural/urban densities are subscription ratios using the report’s geography and projected populations, not individual ownership percentages. Values above 100 are possible.

Start with the category in the row label

TRAI receives subscription data from service providers. Its August report places wireless telephone subscriptions, wireline telephone subscriptions and broadband subscriptions in separate rows. Each row needs its own definition.

For broadband, the report gives 1,010.28 million subscriptions after excluding machine-to-machine cellular mobile connections. This consists of 961.65 million wireless and 48.63 million wireline broadband subscriptions. Removing machine connections improves the relevance of a figure for some human-use questions, but does not turn it into a deduplicated count of people.

Evidence: Telecom Subscription Data at the end of August 2026 — Press Release 125/2026 · Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025 — NSS Report No. 593

A connection can serve people in several ways

Consider a household with a shared home connection and adults with their own mobile plans. A connection count and a household count will describe that arrangement differently. Conversely, several people may use one connection. An organisation can also hold connections for staff, equipment or multiple locations.

These examples show why a marketer should not multiply the subscription total by an assumed purchase rate and call the result a customer forecast. First choose whether the market consists of accounts, devices, homes, organisations or individual users. Then find evidence for that unit.

Evidence: Telecom Subscription Data at the end of August 2026 — Press Release 125/2026 · Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025 — NSS Report No. 593

Why telephone density can exceed 100

The August report gives telephone density of 95.07 subscriptions per 100 projected people with M2M cellular mobile connections included, and 85.26 with them excluded. Its urban overall figure, on the included basis, is 155.00 per 100 projected people. The corresponding rural figure is 61.12.

A value above 100 is possible because the numerator counts subscriptions. It should not be capped or described as more than 100% of people owning a phone. TRAI also uses its specified population projections and service geography; those choices belong with any density comparison.

Evidence: Telecom Subscription Data at the end of August 2026 — Press Release 125/2026 · Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025 — NSS Report No. 593

Pair administrative totals with a household survey

TRAI is useful for examining the size and composition of the subscription base at a stated month end. CMS Telecom is useful for questions about household access and individual ownership or use. The two sources can sit beside one another if their dates and units remain explicit.

For an audience estimate, select an age-specific survey measure and investigate the intended users. For a network or subscription-market study, use the relevant TRAI category. Keep changes in coverage, machine connections and category definitions visible when building a time series, instead of assuming similarly named totals are interchangeable.

Evidence: Telecom Subscription Data at the end of August 2026 — Press Release 125/2026 · Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025 — NSS Report No. 593

Explore the detailed tables

The source’s units, dates and definitions stay alongside the figures.

Selected TRAI measures, 31 August 2026

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

MeasureValueUnit
Wireless telephone base, including M2M and FWA1,312.25million subscriptions
Broadband, excluding M2M cellular mobile connections1,010.28million subscriptions
Telephone density, including M2M95.07subscriptions per 100 projected people
Telephone density, excluding M2M85.26subscriptions per 100 projected people

M2M: machine-to-machine. FWA: fixed wireless access. The rows are different measures and should not be added together.

Official source table ↗ · Page 1, highlights table and footnotes

Official evidence and definitions

  1. Telecom Subscription Data at the end of August 2026 — Press Release 125/2026

    Telecom Regulatory Authority of India · 31 August 2026 · 2026-09-28. Page 1, highlights table and footnotes; page 2, segment-wise broadband table

    Administrative returns from telecom service providers. Connections are not deduplicated people. Preserve the report’s distinctions between wireless, wireline, fixed wireless access and machine-to-machine connections.

  2. Comprehensive Modular Survey: Telecom, 2025 — NSS Report No. 593

    National Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation · January–March 2025 · 2025-05-29. Statements 2, 2.1, 3, 13 and 14; Appendix A Tables 2 and 14; RSE Table 5

    National estimates were the primary survey objective. State/UT estimates require attention to sample size and relative standard error. Excludes some inaccessible Andaman and Nicobar Islands villages. May 29 is the official results-release date.

PopulationIndia analyses and presents the evidence independently. Government and other named agencies publish the original data. Reference periods belong to the figures; the review date does not make an older statistic current.

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