New Delhi: 

The report shows that while mobile and broadband coverage continues to expand in rural areas, overall internet growth has slowed down slightly. With over 1,200 million total telecom subscribers and a sharp jump in wireless usage, the quarter was a mixed bag of gains and losses.

 India’s telecom pulse for the first quarter of 2025 is in. TRAI on Wednesday published its latest “Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report,” offering a bird’s-eye view of the industry’s performance from January to March 2025.

Internet subscriber growth nearly flat

India’s internet user base stood at 969.10 million, down marginally from 970.16 million in December 2024. The broadband category slipped to 944.12 million, while narrowband stood at 24.98 million. Out of the total, 927.70 million used wireless and only 41.41 million were on wired connections.

On average, users consumed 22.19 GB of mobile data each month, and the average revenue per GB was ₹9.11. The monthly ARPU for wireless service rose to ₹182.95, up from ₹181.80 last quarter.

Mobile subscribers rise, wireline takes a hit

India saw a net addition of 13.10 million wireless (mobile + 5G FWA) users, pushing the total to 1,163.76 million. Out of this, 6.77 million were from the newer 5G fixed wireless access category. However, traditional wireline subscribers dropped by 5.67 percent to 37.04 million, mainly because some 5G FWA users were reclassified.

Tele-density also went up slightly from 84.45 percent to 85.04 percent, with rural areas accounting for 534.69 million subscribers. Urban zones stood at 666.11 million. The rural subscription share increased to 44.53 percent.

Financials stay healthy, ARPU grows

Telecom sector gross revenue touched ₹98,250 crore, marking a 1.93 percent growth from the previous quarter. Adjusted gross revenue hit ₹79,226 crore with a 1.66 percent increase.

TRAI noted, “Monthly ARPU for the pre-paid segment is ₹182.53, and for the post-paid segment, it is ₹187.48.” The sector also saw 12.44 percent Y-O-Y growth in AGR.

Quality of service mostly met

oth wireline and wireless providers complied with key Quality of Service (QoS) benchmarks. These include 100 percent compliance in handling billing complaints, service terminations, and refund of deposits within 45 days.

TRAI’s report also highlighted:

918 private satellite TV channels permitted by MIB

₹466.63 crore ad revenue from FM radio operators this quarter

56.92 million active pay DTH users

388 operational private FM radio channels across 113 cities

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