India's Telecom Sector: Q1FY26 Performance Signals Steady Growth, And 5G Expansion - Report

India's telecom industry has reported an inline performance in the Q1 FY26 as a result of steady flow of subscribers and execution of 5G rollout, as per a Centrum report, citing ANI.

The Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio garnered 9.9 million new customers, taking its total customer base to 498.1 million. Bharti Airtel also raised its wireless customer base by 1.2 million subscribers. However, Vodafone Idea saw a net loss of 0.5 million subscribers.

The top operators, namely, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, focused on network expansion and subscriber retention, while tower and digital service providers also reported stable growth, it said. 

The average revenue per user (ARPU), a key industry benchmark, showed steady improvement.

Airtel maintained leadership at ₹250 per month, up 2% quarter-on-quarter, aided by smartphone adoption and postpaid upgrades. Jio's ARPU rose 1.3% to ₹209 per month, supported by its richer customer mix and strong fixed wireless access (FWA) adoption, it added. 

Vodafone Idea's ARPU inched up to ₹165 from ₹164 in the previous quarter, reflecting gradual improvement in customer quality. 5G adoption continued to accelerate across the sector. Reliance Jio reached 213 million 5G subscribers, while Airtel closed the quarter with 152 million. Airtel also reported its highest ever broadband net additions at 0.94 million, including 0.54 million through FWA, and 0.7 million new postpaid users.

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Meanwhile, Jio crossed 20 million home connections, adding 2.6 million during the quarter, with JioAirFiber holding over 80% market share. Vodafone Idea expanded 5G services to Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Patna, and plans to cover all 17 spectrum circles by August 2025. In the tower segment, Indus Towers posted healthy execution with revenue growth driven by 2,468 new macro towers and 5,777 co-locations, as per a Centrum report,

Its total portfolio reached around 251,800 towers and 411,200 co-locations. The company also made progress on solarization, with over 2,250 sites added in the quarter, taking the total to 32,000.

Among digital service providers, Tata Communications reported revenue of ₹59.6 billion, down 0.5% sequentially but up 5.8% year-on-year, supported by strong growth in cloud, security, and connectivity services. Its EBITDA margin improved to 19.1%.