Telecom services providing companies in India are regulated by Department of Telecommunications and TRAI which comes under Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
Direct-to-home (DTH) operators There are 4 pay-for-use DTH service providers and one free-to-air service provider (DD Free Dish) in India.
As of 31.03.2026, there are 49.05 million active DTH subscribers, in addition to the subscribers of state-owned DD Free Dish, in the country according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
+ OperatorMarket share OwnershipTata Play30.92%Tata Group (70%)Disney India (30%)Airtel Digital TV28.36%Bharti Airtel (100%)Dish TV19.11%Publicly owned (95.96%)Sun Direct21.61%Sun TV Network (80%)Astro (20%)DD Free DishMinistry of Information and Broadcasting (100%) Notes DD Free Dish is a free-to-air service; hence, their subscriber data is not shown in the TRAI performance report.
Multiple-system operators (MSOs)
As of 31 March 2026, there are 752 MSO and 2 HITS operators
List of top MSOs by subscribers +NoOperatorTotal active subscriber base1GTPL Hathway Ltd71,62,1922Hathway Digital Ltd51,74,0773Siti Networks Ltd48,10,7104Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication Pvt Ltd. (TCCL)38,03,451 5Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL)36,48,6286Den Networks Ltd32,52,7647NXT Digital Ltd (HITS)24,39,0678KAL Cables19,50,3739V K Digital Network Pvt. Ltd15,60,58510Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (TACTV)14,78,71811Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd13,15,75112NXT Digital Ltd (CATV)12,33,233
Wireless operators
As of 31.08.2026 there were around 1312.25 million wireless subscribers in India, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Mobile operators
Over the past decade, the Indian cellular services market has seen rapid consolidation. The launch of Jio Platforms in 2016 changed the market dynamics substantially as the company offered free data and voice services during its first year of operations, prompting a fierce price war in the market. Jio managed to garner over 8 crore (80 million) subscribers. In 2018, Airtel India lost its market leadership position for the first time in 15 years as a result of the completion of a merger between then telecom giants Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.
Active operators
+List of active mobile operators in the country (as on 31.08.2026)Operator (estd.)BrandsTotal subscribers (million)Active subscribers (million) TechnologiesOwnershipNotesJio (2016)Jio508.43502.335G (VoNR), 4G (VoLTE, VoWiFi)Jio Platforms (100%)The 'Jio' brand is operated by Reliance Industries.Airtel (1995)Airtel 491.60486.765G(VoNR for postpaid), 4G (VoLTE, VoWiFi), 2GBharti Enterprises (66.57) Singtel (32.15) Alphabet Inc. (1.28%)The 'airtel' brand is operated by Bharti Hexacom Limited in Rajasthan and North-East India. Bharti Airtel owns 70% of Bharti Hexacom, while TCIL (Government of India) owns the remaining 30%. Subscriber count and active users include Bharti Hexacom.Vi (2018)Vi199.57167.325G (Some Cities), 4G (VoLTE, VoWiFi), 2GGovernment of India (49%)Vodafone Group (16%)Aditya Birla Group (9.5%)Public Shareholding (25.5%)In February 2023, the Government of India converted ₹16,133 crore (~US$1.9 billion) debt owed to it by the operator into equity, after the company opted for the option given to it under a 'telecom reforms package'.BSNL Mobile (2000)BSNL93.6750.934G (VoLTE, VoWiFi), 3G,2GGovernment of India (100%)BSNL (VNOs) operates all over India. BSNL has excellent network coverage in many states of India. BSNL is installing more towers to improve network across India. BSNL provides cheapest recharge plans in entire telecom industry.
Defunct operators
As of 28 September 2026, 17 mobile operators have ceased operations in India. The longest operating defunct operator is MTNL which was also the first mobile operator in the country.
+List of notable mobile operators that provided services in the country (as on 28 September 2026)OperatorStarted operationsCeased operationsFateModi Telstra19952000Merged into AxiataEscotel19962004Merged into Idea CellularS Tel20082012Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of IndiaEtisalat20102012Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of IndiaLoop Mobile19952014Ceased operations after expiration of licenceVirgin Mobile / T24 Mobile20092015Merged into Tata DoCoMoAxiata19952016Merged into Idea CellularVideocon Telecom20102016Shut down following sale of spectrum to Bharti AirtelSingtel20092017Acquired by AirtelMTS20092017Acquired by Reliance CommunicationsAircel19992018BankruptTelenor20062018Acquired by AirtelIdea Cellular20022018Merged with Vodafone India to form Vodafone IdeaVodafone India20112018Merged with Idea Cellular to form Vodafone IdeaTata DoCoMo20092019Acquired by Bharti AirtelReliance Communications20042018Declared bankruptcy, subsequently acquired by JioMTNL19862025Merged into BSNL
Wireline operators
Fixed-line operators As of 31.08.2026, there are 48.48 million wireline subscribers in India according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The number of subscribers of all 10 companies are tabulated as follows: Operator Subscribers (lakh) Ownership Jio 159.79Jio Platforms Airtel 122.85 Bharti Airtel Tata Teleservices 112.02 Tata Group BSNL 66.50Government of India MTNL 10.50Government of India Vi 7.54 Vodafone Group Aditya Birla Group APSFL 0.78 Government of Andhra Pradesh Quadrant 3.24 Videocon Telecom Reliance Communications 0.75 Reliance Group STPL 0.58 Sudhana Telecommunications Private Limited
Internet service providers (ISPs) Internet service providers (ISPs) offering broadband (wired + wireless) services. The total number of broadband subscribers stood at 1101.21 million as of 31.08.2026. Total Wireless broadband subscribers stood at 1052.58 million and wireline broadband subscribers stood at 48.63 million.
As of 31.08.2026, the top five wired + wireless broadband service providers which have market share of 98.58% is as follows:
Operator Subscribers (million) Ownership Jio 538.03 Jio Platforms Airtel 386.39 Bharti Airtel Vi 130.88 Vodafone Group Aditya Birla Group BSNL 27.82 Government of India Atria Convergence Technologies Limited 2.48
Other notable ISPs ProviderOwnershipApsflGovernment of Andhra PradeshAsianet BroadbandRajan Raheja GroupKerala Vision Broadband Kerala Communicatiors Cable Limited (KCCL)Den NetworksReliance IndustriesHathwayReliance IndustriesRailtelGovernment of IndiaSifySify GroupTata Play FiberTata Group (70%) Disney India (30%) Excitel
For enterprise/wholesale only +ProviderOwnershipCtrlS DatacentersCtrlS LabsERNETMinistry of Electronics and Information TechnologyGailtelGovernment of IndiaNational Knowledge NetworkGovernment of IndiaPowertelGovernment of IndiaTulip TelecomTulip Enterprises
Telecom R&D firms
Name Headquarters TypeBeetelGurugramPrivateC-DOTNew DelhiState-owned enterpriseHFCLGurugramPrivateSasken TechnologiesBengaluru PrivateSterlite TechnologiesPune PrivateTejas NetworksBengaluru PrivateUTLBengaluruState-owned enterprise
See also Telecommunications in India List of mobile network operators Direct-to-home television in India List of mobile network operators in Asia and Oceania Internet in India
Notes
References
External links ISP market share grouped by ASNs used (APNIC report) List of ASNs assigned to India List of Telecom Service Providers on TRAI website Department of Telecommunications, Government of India Updates on telecom Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Cellular Operators Association of India List of Telecom Service Providers on TRAI website