Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has reported 2.96 percent drop in its Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) during the fiscal 2025-26 to Rs 8,185 crore from Rs 8,435 in fiscal 2024-25 fiscal.
BSNL has ended FY2025-26 with 100.40 million total telephone subscribers, crossing the 100-million milestone as the state-owned telecom operator added customers in a highly competitive Indian market. However, TRAI data also shows a mixed performance: BSNL expanded its mobile subscriber base and retained a substantial rural presence, while losing wireline subscribers and market share.
According to TRAI’s Indian Telecom Services Yearly Performance Indicators 2025-2026, India had 1,330.58 million telephone subscribers at the end of March 2026. Public-sector operators accounted for 7.68 percent of the overall subscriber market, compared with 92.32 percent for private operators. BSNL
For BSNL, the important story is that subscriber growth returned during FY2025-26 even as its overall market share declined because the wider Indian telecom market expanded faster.
BSNL Subscriber Base Rises to 100.40 Million
BSNL’s total subscriber base increased from 98.74 million in March 2025 to 100.40 million in March 2026, a net addition of 1.66 million subscribers.
That represented annual growth of 1.68 percent.
BSNL was also among only a handful of operators that reported positive subscriber growth during the year. TRAI says Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Tata Tele and STPL registered subscriber gains, while the other operators in its table reported declines.
Despite adding subscribers, BSNL’s overall market share dropped from 8.22 percent in March 2025 to 7.55 percent in March 2026.
The decline reflects the much faster expansion of India’s overall telephone subscriber base. Total connections increased from 1,200.80 million to 1,330.58 million, representing growth of 10.81 percent.
This means BSNL grew in absolute terms but did not grow quickly enough to maintain its market share.
BSNL Mobile Subscribers Increase 2.07% to 92.94 Million
BSNL’s performance was stronger in the core wireless mobile business.
Its wireless mobile subscriber base increased from 91.06 million in March 2025 to 92.94 million in March 2026.
The operator added 1.88 million mobile subscribers, producing annual growth of 2.07 percent.
BSNL nevertheless lost some wireless market share. Its share declined from 7.87 percent to 7.34 percent during the year.
For comparison, India’s overall wireless mobile subscriber base increased 9.40 percent, from 1,156.99 million to 1,265.73 million.
BSNL therefore grew at less than one-quarter of the overall wireless market’s rate.
The operator also remained significantly behind the three private-sector leaders. Reliance Jio ended March 2026 with 496.34 million wireless mobile subscribers and 39.21 percent market share, followed by Bharti Airtel with 477.74 million and 37.74 percent. Vodafone Idea had 198.48 million subscribers and 15.68 percent, while BSNL ranked fourth with 92.94 million and 7.34 percent.
The figures highlight the scale of the challenge facing BSNL as its 4G network expansion and subscriber strategy compete against much larger private mobile networks.
Rural India Accounts for 30.80 Million BSNL Mobile Customers
Rural connectivity remains an important component of BSNL’s subscriber profile.
TRAI reports that BSNL had 30.80 million rural wireless mobile subscribers at the end of March 2026.
Rural customers represented 33.14 percent of BSNL’s 92.94 million wireless mobile subscribers. BSNL accounted for 5.71 percent of India’s rural mobile subscriber market.
Across all wireless connections in TRAI’s broader Mobile+FWA measure, BSNL’s rural subscriber figures were also reported at 30.80 million, giving it a 5.64 percent rural wireless market share.
India had 539.22 million rural wireless mobile subscribers at the end of March 2026. The broader wireless Mobile+FWA base stood at 546.60 million rural subscribers.
BSNL’s rural numbers remain significant, but the operator trails Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea in rural wireless market share.
BSNL Has 32.97 Million Rural Customers Across All Telephone Services
When wireline and wireless services are combined, BSNL’s rural footprint becomes larger.
Of BSNL’s 100.40 million total telephone subscribers, 32.97 million were rural customers at the end of March 2026.
Rural subscribers therefore represented 32.83 percent of BSNL’s total customer base.
BSNL held 5.97 percent of India’s total rural telephone subscriber market.
Jio led with 224.86 million rural subscribers and 40.74 percent market share, followed by Airtel with 199.23 million and 36.10 percent and Vodafone Idea with 92.89 million and 16.83 percent.
BSNL’s figures underline the importance of rural coverage as the government-backed operator continues its network modernization program.
BSNL M2M Connections Reach 4.07 Million
BSNL also has a presence in India’s rapidly expanding machine-to-machine connectivity market.
India’s M2M cellular connections jumped from 66.54 million in March 2025 to 123.88 million in March 2026.
BSNL had 4.07 million M2M cellular connections, representing 3.28 percent of the national market.
Airtel dominated the segment with 76.99 million M2M connections and 62.15 percent market share. Jio accounted for 18.76 percent and Vodafone Idea 15.81 percent.
The rapid expansion of M2M connections represents another opportunity for BSNL as enterprise IoT, connected infrastructure, utilities and industrial applications increase demand for cellular connectivity.
BSNL Wireline Subscribers Fall to 7.46 Million
BSNL’s performance in fixed-line services was weaker.
Its wireline subscriber base declined from 7.68 million in March 2025 to 7.46 million in March 2026, representing a loss of 0.22 million subscribers and a 2.90 percent decline.
More significantly, BSNL’s wireline market share dropped from 20.74 percent to 15.46 percent.
The decline occurred while India’s overall wireline market expanded rapidly. Total wireline subscribers increased from 37.04 million to 48.25 million, representing growth of 30.25 percent.
Reliance Jio became the largest wireline provider with 15.24 million subscribers and 31.58 percent market share, followed by Airtel with 11.42 million and 23.67 percent. Tata Tele reached 11.17 million subscribers and 23.16 percent, while BSNL’s 7.46 million connections gave it fourth position by the figures in TRAI’s table.
The widening difference between overall wireline growth and BSNL’s decline highlights the competitive pressure in India’s fiber broadband market.
BSNL Ranks Fourth in Broadband With 27.37 Million Subscribers
Broadband provides another important measure of BSNL’s position.
India’s total broadband subscriber base increased from 944.12 million in March 2025 to 1,065.88 million in March 2026, representing 12.90 percent growth.
TRAI ranked BSNL among India’s five largest broadband providers.
The leading broadband operators by subscriber base were:
| Operator | Broadband subscribers |
| Reliance Jio | 523.44 million |
| Bharti Airtel | 368.84 million |
| Vodafone Idea | 128.91 million |
| BSNL | 27.37 million |
| Atria Convergence | 2.40 million |
BSNL therefore remained India’s fourth-largest broadband service provider by total wired and wireless broadband subscriptions at the end of March 2026.
Mobile devices remained the dominant method of broadband access nationally, accounting for 94.03 percent of India’s broadband subscribers, while wired internet represented only 4.36 percent.
BSNL Gains Subscribers but Market Share Remains Under Pressure
The TRAI FY2025-26 figures reveal two different trends for BSNL.
On the positive side, total subscribers increased by 1.66 million to 100.40 million, while wireless mobile subscribers increased by 1.88 million to 92.94 million. BSNL also retained 30.80 million rural mobile subscribers, 32.97 million total rural telephone subscribers and 4.07 million M2M connections.
But market-share figures show the competitive challenge. BSNL’s overall telephone market share declined from 8.22 percent to 7.55 percent, while its wireless mobile share fell from 7.87 percent to 7.34 percent.
The biggest weakness was wireline: subscribers declined 2.90 percent to 7.46 million, while market share fell sharply from 20.74 percent to 15.46 percent.
The key metric to watch next is whether BSNL’s 4G rollout can translate network expansion into faster subscriber additions. Crossing 100 million total subscribers is an important milestone, but TRAI’s figures show that BSNL will need to grow substantially faster if it wants to reverse the decline in its share of India’s telecom market.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
