List of telecom companies in India
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telecom services providing companies are regulated by Department of Telecommunications and TRAI under Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: MTNL is yet not merged with BSNL, update accordingly TRAI's telecom subscription report. (October 2024) |
Direct-to-home (DTH) operators
Summarize
Perspective
There are 4 pay-for-use DTH service providers and one free-to-air service provider (DD Free Dish) in India.[1]
As of 30 September 2024, there are 59.91 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).
Market share of pay DTH operators in India as of 30 September 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
- Tata Play (31.99%)
- Bharti Telemedia Limited (29.38%)
- Dish TV (19.53%)
- Sun Direct (19.1%)
| Operator | Market share | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Tata Play | 31.99% | Tata Group (80%) Temasek (20%) |
| Bharti Telemedia Limited | 29.38% | Airtel (100%) |
| 19.53% | Publicly Owned (95.96%) | |
| Sun Direct | 19.10% | Sun TV Network (80%) Astro (20%) |
| DD Free Dish | Ministry 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.[1]
Multiple-system operators (MSOs)
As of 30 September 2024, there are 845 MSOs (some also have an ISP license).[1]
List of top MSOs by subscribers
| No | Operator | Total Active Subscriber Base[1] |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GTPL Hathway Ltd | 89,74,192 |
| 2 | Hathway Digital Ltd | 51,74,077 |
| 3 | Siti Networks Ltd | 48,10,710 |
| 4 | Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication Pvt Ltd. (TCCL) | 38,03,451 |
| 5 | Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL) | 36,48,628 |
| 6 | Den Networks Ltd | 32,52,764 |
| 7 | NXT Digital Ltd (HITS) | 24,39,067 |
| 8 | KAL Cables | 19,50,373 |
| 9 | V K Digital Network Pvt. Ltd | 15,60,585 |
| 10 | Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (TACTV) | 14,78,718 |
| 11 | Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd | 13,15,751 |
| 12 | NXT Digital Ltd (CATV) | 12,33,233 |
Wireless operators
Summarize
Perspective
As of 31st December 2024 there are around 1150.66 million wireless subscribers in India according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).[2]
Market share of Wireless Mobile operators in India as of 31st December 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)[3]
- Jio (40.42%)
- Airtel (33.49%)
- Vodafone Idea (18.01%)
- BSNL (7.99%)
- MTNL (0.17%)
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). 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
| Operator
(Estd.) |
Brands | Total Subscribers (million) | Active Subscribers (million) | Technologies | Ownership | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel (1995) | Airtel | 385.31 | 382.07 | 5G, 4G(VoLTE, VoWiFi), 2G | Bharti Enterprises (66.57) | 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%.[4]
Subscriber count and active users include Bharti Hexacom. |
| BSNL Mobile (2000) | BSNL | 91.95 | 55.70 | 4G(not officially launched), 3G, 2G | Government of India (100%) | BSNL does not directly operate in Delhi and Mumbai.[5] BSNL (VNO's) operates only in Tamil Nadu. |
| MTNL (1986) | MTNL | 1.00 | 0.46 | 3G, 2G[6] | Government of India (100%) | MTNL only operates in Delhi and Mumbai.[7] MTNL is in the process of being merged with BSNL. The merger is expected to be completed by 2025.[8] Since January 2021, the operations of MTNL's networks have been outsourced to BSNL.[9] |
| Jio (2016) | Jio | 465.14 | 445.60 | 5G(VoNR), 4G(VoLTE,VoWiFi) | Jio Platforms (100%) | Not to be confused with Reliance Communications. |
| Vodafone Idea (2018) | Vi | 207.26 | 176.51 | 5G(in 17 priority circles only), 4G(VoLTE, limited VoWiFi), 3G, 2G[10] | Government of India (48.99%) Vodafone Group (16.07%) Aditya Birla Group (09.50%) Public Shareholding (25.44%) |
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'.[11] |
Defunct operators
As of 20 March 2025, 16 mobile operators have ceased operations in India. The longest operating defunct operator is Aircel , while the oldest is Modi-Telstra[12] - which was also the first mobile operator in the country.[13] Most recently, Reliance Communications ceased operations citing bankruptcy.[14]
| Operator | Started operations | Ceased operations | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modi Telstra | 1990[12] | Merged into Axiata[15] | |
| Escotel | 1996 | Merged into Idea Cellular[16] | |
| Axiata | 1992 | Merged into Idea Cellular[17] | |
| S Tel | 2012 | Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India | |
| Etisalat | 2010[18] | 2012 | Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India[19] |
| Loop Mobile | 1995 | 2014 | Ceased operations after expiration of licence[20] |
| Virgin Mobile / T24 Mobile | 2009[21] | 2015 | Merged into Tata DoCoMo [22] |
| Singtel | 2009 | 2017 | Acquired by Reliance Communications |
| Videocon Telecom | 2010[23] | 2016 | Shut down following sale of spectrum to Airtel[24][25] |
| MTS | 2009 | 2017 | Acquired by Reliance Communications[26] |
| Aircel | 1999 | 2018 | Bankrupt[27] |
| Telenor | 2006 | 2018 | Acquired by Airtel[28] |
| Idea Cellular | 2002 | 2018 | Merged with Vodafone India to form Vodafone Idea[29][30] |
| Vodafone India | 2011 | 2018 | Merged with Idea Cellular to form Vodafone Idea[29][30] |
| Tata DoCoMo | 2009 | 2019 | Acquired by Airtel[31] |
| Reliance Communications | 2004 | 2019 | Declared bankruptcy, subsequently acquired by Jio[14] |
Wireline operators
Fixed-line operators
As of 30 November 2024, there are 38.50 million wireline subscribers in India according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).[2]
Market share of fixed-line telecom operators in India as of 30 November 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India[2]
- Jio (42.33%)
- Airtel (25.15%)
- BSNL (15.81%)
- Tata Teleservices (6.11%)
- Vi (2.21%)
- Others (8.37%)
| Operator | Subscribers[1] (lakh) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| JioFiber | 162.99 | Jio Platforms |
| Airtel | 96.85 | Bharti Airtel |
| BSNL | 60.88 | Government of India |
| Tata Teleservices | 23.51 | Tata Group |
| Vi | 8.51 | Vodafone Group |
| Quadrant | 3.56 | Videocon Telecom |
| Reliance Communications | 1.17 | Reliance Group |
Internet service providers (ISPs)
Summarize
Perspective
Internet service providers (ISPs) offering broadband (wired + wireless) services. The total number of broadband subscribers stood at 941.47 million as of 30 November 2024.[32][33] Total Wireless broadband subscribers stood at 903.79 million and wireline broadband subscribers stood at 40.97 million.[3] The top 5 services constituted 98.42% market share of the total broadband subscribers.[33]
As of 30 November 2024, top five Wireless Broadband Service providers
| Operator | Subscribers[33] (million) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| JioFiber | 465.10 | Jio Platforms |
| Airtel | 280.76 | Bharti Airtel |
| Vi | 124.78 | Vodafone Group |
| BSNL | 32.68 | Government of India |
| Intech Online | 0.25 |
The following table shows the top 5 wired broadband service providers in India by total subscriber base as of 30 November 2024.
| Provider | Subscribers[33] (million) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| JioFiber | 11.48 | Jio Platforms |
| Airtel | 8.55 | Bharti Airtel |
| BSNL | 4.24 | Government of India |
| ACT | 2.27 | India Value Fund Advisors |
| KVBL | 1.25 |
Other notable ISPs
| Provider | Ownership |
|---|---|
| APSFL | Government of Andhra Pradesh |
| Asianet Broadband | Rajan Raheja Group |
| DEN Networks | Reliance Industries |
| Hathway | Reliance Industries |
| RailTel | Government of India |
| Sify | Sify Group |
| Tata Play | Tata Group (70%) The Walt Disney Company India (30%) |
| Excitel |
For enterprise/wholesale only
| Provider | Ownership |
|---|---|
| CtrlS Datacenters | CtrlS Labs |
| ERNET | Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology |
| GAILTEL | Government of India |
| National Knowledge Network (for educational institutions only) |
Government of India |
| PowerTel | Government of India |
| Tulip Telecom | Tulip Enterprises |
Telecom R&D firms
| Name | Headquarters | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Beetel | Gurgaon | Private |
| C-DOT | New Delhi | State-owned enterprise |
| HFCL | New Delhi | Private |
| Sasken Technologies | Bangalore | Private |
| Sterlite Technologies | Pune | Private |
| Tejas Networks | Bangalore | Private |
| United Telecoms Limited | Bangalore | State-owned enterprise |
See also
Notes
References
External links
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