Reliance Jio remains India’s largest mobile operator with 506.03 million subscriptions, but national leadership does not translate into dominance across every telecom circle. July 2026 wireless subscriber figures show Jio ranks second in 11 of India’s 22 telecom service areas, trailing Bharti Airtel in 10 and Vodafone Idea in Kerala.
TRAI’s report on India mobile subscriber base for July 2026 indicated that Jio’s mobile subscriber market share stood at 39.29 percent, compared with Airtel’s 38.01 percent. Vodafone Idea has 15.6 percent share in India. Airtel ended July with 489.49 million subscriptions, leaving a gap of approximately 16.54 million between the two operators.
The circle-level figures reveal a more competitive market than national rankings alone suggest, with Airtel maintaining substantial advantages in Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Airtel’s biggest advantages are in Delhi and Karnataka
Delhi presents Jio’s largest subscriber gap among the circles where it ranks second. Airtel’s 40.23 million subscriptions were nearly double Jio’s 20.70 million, creating a lead of 19.53 million.
In Karnataka, Airtel led by 18.31 million subscriptions, with 45.09 million against Jio’s 26.78 million. Tamil Nadu followed with an Airtel advantage of 8.54 million, while Andhra Pradesh recorded a gap of 7.08 million.
Airtel also led Jio by 4.93 million in Assam, 4.16 million in Bihar and 3.01 million in Mumbai. Its advantages in Punjab, North East and Jammu & Kashmir stood at approximately 2.37 million, 2.13 million and 1.01 million, respectively.
Vodafone Idea keeps Kerala leadership
Kerala stands out as the only circle where Jio’s second-place position is behind Vodafone Idea.
Vodafone Idea recorded 12.81 million subscriptions, compared with Jio’s 11.25 million, a difference of approximately 1.56 million. Airtel had 9.84 million, while BSNL had 9.03 million.
However, Jio gained 53,101 subscriptions in Kerala during July, while Vodafone Idea lost 14,831, narrowing the gap between the two operators.
Jio leads 11 circles, including a narrow Himachal Pradesh win
Jio ranked first in the remaining 11 service areas: Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West and West Bengal.
Himachal Pradesh was particularly close. Jio had 3,639,396 subscriptions, just 2,185 more than Airtel’s 3,637,211.
Nationally, Airtel added 2.69 million subscriptions in July, exceeding Jio’s 2.45 million additions. India’s total wireless mobile subscriber base reached 1.288 billion, increasing by 5.54 million during the month.
These figures show why India’s telecom competition needs to be assessed circle by circle: Jio leads nationally, but Airtel holds first place in 10 service areas, while Vodafone Idea retains leadership in Kerala.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
