Telecom revenue surges; internet base shrinks slightly in Q1 2025: TRAI

India’s total telecom subscriber base has crossed 1.2 billion in the quarter ending March 2025, driven largely by rural growth and wireless additions, even as the internet subscriber base saw a marginal dip, according to the latest “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report” released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

As per the TRAI data, the total number of telephone subscribers rose from 1,189.92 million at the end of December 2024 to 1,200.80 million in March 2025, marking a 0.91% quarterly growth. Rural India led the charge, with rural subscriptions growing from 527.20 million to 534.69 million and rural teledensity rising to 59.06%. Urban teledensity also saw a slight increase to 131.45%.

Internet and Broadband See Contraction

Despite overall telecom growth, the total internet subscriber base declined slightly from 970.16 million in December 2024 to 969.10 million by March 2025, a 0.11% drop. Of this, wireless internet users were 927.70 million, while wired internet connections stood at 41.41 million.

The broadband subscriber base decreased by 0.09% to 944.12 million, while narrowband users dipped to 24.98 million.

However, the number of wireline subscribers saw a sharp 5.67% quarterly decline, falling to 37.04 million. This is attributed to the reclassification of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) subscribers under the wireless category. Yet, on a year-on-year basis, wireline connections grew by 9.62%, indicating rising adoption of fiber and enterprise-grade broadband.

Wireline teledensity also declined to 2.62% from 2.79% the previous quarter.

Wireless subscriptions, including 5G FWA, rose from 1,150.66 million to 1,163.76 million, up by 1.14% QoQ. Pure mobile wireless users (excluding FWA) rose to 1,156.99 million.

Wireless teledensity increased to 82.42%, even as the year-on-year growth rate for mobile users saw a slight decline of 0.73%.

ARPU, MOU and Revenue Continue Upward Trend

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for wireless services grew 0.64% to Rs 182.95 in Q1 2025, with prepaid ARPU at Rs 182.53 and postpaid ARPU at Rs 187.48. Year-on-year ARPU increased 19.16%.

Monthly average Minutes of Usage (MOU) per subscriber rose to 1,026, with prepaid MOU significantly higher at 1,074 compared to postpaid’s 514.

The telecom sector clocked a Gross Revenue (GR) of Rs 98,250 crore, with Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) at Rs 79,226 crore, a 1.66% quarterly rise and 12.44% increase year-on-year. License fees also rose 1.69% to Rs 6,340 crore.

Access services accounted for over 84% of the total AGR.

Read More: Jio and Airtel sustain broadband supremacy amid modest industry growth: TRAI

Digital TV and Radio Show Mixed Signals

India had 333 active satellite pay TV channels as of March 31, 2025, out of 908 permitted channels comprising 232 SD and 101 HD channels.

Pay DTH services registered a dip, with active subscribers falling from 58.22 million in December 2024 to 56.92 million in March 2025. This is exclusive of the DD Free Dish platform.

In private FM radio, the total number of operational channels remained at 388 across 113 cities, despite a consolidation involving six channels across Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata merging into South Asia FM Ltd, reducing the number of private FM operators from 36 to 33.

Read More: TRAI reports 0.87% drop in wireless subscribers in September; BSNL gains ground