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List of telecom companies in India

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This is a list of telecom services providing companies in India. These companies are regulated by Department of Telecommunications and TRAI under Ministry of Communications, Government of India.

Direct-to-home (DTH) operators

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There are 4 pay-for-use DTH service providers and one free-to-air service provider (DD Free Dish) in India.[1]

As of 31th March 2024, there are 61.97 million active paying DTH subscribers, in addition to the subscribers of state-owned DD Free Dish, in the country according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). DD Free Dish has over 4 crore (40 million) subscribers.[2]

Market share of pay DTH operators in India as of 31th March 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

  Tata Play (32.53%)
  Airtel digital TV (28.45%)
  Dish TV (20.46%)
  Sun Direct (18.57%)
Operator Market share Ownership
Tata Play 32.53%[1] Tata Group (50.2%)
Disney India (29.8%)
Temasek (20%)
Airtel Digital TV 28.45%[1] Bharti Airtel (100%)

Dish TV

20.46%[1] Publicly Owned
Sun Direct 18.57%[1] Sun TV Network (80%)
Astro (20%)
DD Free Dish Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India) (100%)

Notes

  • DD free dish is a free-to-air service hence their subscriber data is not shown in the TRAI performance report.[1]
  • On 22 March 2018, Dish TV merged with d2h, creating the then-largest DTH service provider in India.[3]

Multiple-system operators (MSOs)

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See also: List of cable television companies § India

As of 31 March 2024, there are 880 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 91,07,022
2 Siti Networks Ltd 53,00,428
3 Hathway Digital Ltd 52,92,476
4 Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication Pvt Ltd. (TCCL) 38,13,509
5 Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL) 34,96,432
6 Den Networks Ltd 34,55,854
7 NXT Digital Ltd (HITS) 25,79,033
8 KAL Cables 20,01,969
9 V K Digital Network Pvt. Ltd 16,03,039
10 Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (TACTV) 15,77,636
11 Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd 14,63,512
12 NXT Digital Ltd (CATV) 12,61,409

Wireless operators

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As of 31st August 2024, there are around 1200.07 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 August 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)[4]

  Jio (33.40%)
  Airtel (28.03%)
  BSNL (21.84%)
  Vodafone (18.39%)

Mobile operators

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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

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List of active mobile operators in the country (as on 31st August 2024)
Operator

(Estd.)

Brands Total Subscribers (million) Active Subscribers (million) Technologies Ownership Notes
Airtel India (1995) Airtel (stylised as 'airtel') 384.92 381.99 5G, 4G(VoLTE, VoWiFi), 2G Bharti Enterprises (66.57)

Singtel (32.15) Google (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%.[5]

Subscriber count and active users include Bharti Hexacom.

BSNL (2000) CellOne

BSNL Mobile

BSNL (VNO's)

91.25 53.60 5G roll out in progress,4G, 3G, 2G Government of India (100%) BSNL does not directly operate in Delhi and Mumbai.[6]BSNL (VNO's) operates only in Tamil Nadu.
MTNL (1986) Dolphin[7]

MTNL Delhi[8] Sanjay (14 January 2010). "MTNL (Mumbai) Introduces Online Recharge for Trump Prepaid and 3G". telecomtalk.info.</ref>[9]

1.91 0.50 3G, 2G[10] Government of India (100%) MTNL only operates in Delhi and Mumbai.[11] MTNL is in the process of being merged with BSNL. The merger is expected to be completed by 2025.[12] Since January 2021, the operations of MTNL's networks have been outsourced to BSNL.[13]
Jio (2016) Jio 471.75 442.76 5G(VoNR), 4G(VoLTE), VoWiFi Jio Platforms Limited (100%) Not to be confused with Reliance Communications.
Vodafone Idea (2018) Vi (stylised as 'V!') 214.01 182.63 5G(select locations in Pune and Delhi), 4G(VoLTE, limited VoWiFi), 2G[14] Government of India (23.8%)
Vodafone Group (23.2%)
Aditya Birla Group (15.0%)
Public Shareholding (38.0%) 		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'.[15]

Defunct operators

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As of 25 October 2024, 16 mobile operators have ceased operations in India. The longest operating defunct operator is Aircel , while the oldest is Modi-Telstra[16] - which was also the first mobile operator in the country.[17] Most recently, Reliance Communications ceased operations citing bankruptcy.[18]

List of notable mobile operators that provided services in the country (as on 25 October 2024)
Operator Started operations Ceased operations Fate
Modi Telstra[16] 1990 Merged into Axiata Spice Communications[19]
Escotel 1996 Merged into Idea Cellular[20]
Hutch Essar 1999 Acquired by Vodafone to form Vodafone India
Axiata Spice Communications 1992 Merged into Idea Cellular[21]
S Tel 2012 Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India
Etisalat 2010[22] 2012 Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India[23]
BPL Mobile (Loop Mobile) 1995 2014 Ceased operations after expiration of licence[24]
Virgin Mobile India / T24 Mobile 2009[25] 2015 Merged into Tata Docomo [26]
Singtel 2009 2017 Acquired by Reliance Communications
Videocon Telecom 2010[27] 2016 Shut down following sale of spectrum to Bharti Airtel[28][29]
MTS India 2009 2017 Acquired by Reliance Communications[30]
Aircel 1999 2018 Bankrupt[31]
Telenor India 2006 2018 Acquired by Bharti Airtel[32]
Idea Cellular 2002 2018 Merged with Vodafone India to form Vi[33][34]
Vodafone India 2011 2018 Merged with Idea Cellular to form Vi[33][34]
Tata Docomo 2009 2019 Acquired by Bharti Airtel[35]
Reliance Communications 2004 2019 Declared bankruptcy, subsequently acquired by Reliance JIO[18]

Wireline operators

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Fixed-line operators

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As of 31st August, 2024, there are 36.23 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 31st August 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India[2]

  Jio (39.65%)
  Airtel (25.46%)
  BSNL (17.07%)
  Tata Teleservices (6.46%)
  Vi (2.32%)
  Others (24.1%)
Operator Subscribers[1] (lakh) Ownership
Jio 143.65 Jio Platforms
Airtel 92.24 Bharti Airtel
BSNL 61.86 Government of India
Tata Teleservices 23.39 Tata Group
Vi 8.4 Vodafone Idea Limited
Quadrant 3.55
Reliance Communications 1.20 Reliance ADAG

Internet service providers (ISPs)

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Internet service providers (ISPs) offering broadband (wired + wireless) services. The total number of broadband subscribers stood at 928.41 million as of 30th April 2024.[36][37] Total Wireless broadband subscribers stood at 866.19 million and wireline broadband subscribers stood at 38.35 million.[4] The top 5 services constituted 98.35% market share of the total broadband subscribers.[37]

Market share of broadband (wired + wireless) services in India as of 30th April 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)[4]

  Jio (52.14%)
  Airtel (29.66%)
  Vi (13.62%)
  BSNL (2.69%)
  ACT (0.24%)
  Others (1.65%)

As of 30th April 2024, top five Wireless Broadband Service providers

Operator Subscribers[37] (million) Ownership
Jio 472.42 Jio Platforms
Airtel 267.57 Bharti Airtel
Vi 126.43 Vodafone Idea Limited
BSNL 20.84 Government of India
Intech Online Pvt. Ltd 0.24

The following table shows the top 5 wired broadband service providers in India by total subscriber base as of 30th April 2024.

Provider Subscribers[37] (million) Ownership
JioFiber 11.62 Jio Platforms
Airtel 7.84 Bharti Airtel
BSNL 4.14 Government of India
ACT 2.25 Atria Convergence
OneOTT Intertainment 1.17 Hinduja Group

Other notable ISPs

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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 Communications Tata Group
Tata Play Tata Group (70%)
The Walt Disney Company India (30%)
Excitel Excitel Broadband Pvt. Ltd.

For enterprise/wholesale only

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Provider Ownership
CtrlS Datacenters Ltd CtrlS Labs Limited
ERNET Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
GAILTEL Government of India
National Knowledge Network
(for educational institutions only) 		Government of India
PowerGrid

(PowerTel)

Government of India
Tulip Telecom Tulip Enterprises

Telecom R&D firms

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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

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators January–March, 2024" (PDF). trai.com.
  2. ^ a b c d "Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st July, 2024" (PDF). TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA.
  3. ^ "Dish TV India, Videocon d2h merger completed". The Economic Times. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Telecom Subscription Data as on 31 December 2023" (PDF). Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
  5. ^ "Bharti Hexacom". Bharti Hexacom.
  6. ^ "BSNL customers can activate Vi roaming network in Delhi and NCR, here is how". India Today. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  7. ^ "Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd". Business Standard India. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  8. ^ "MTNL Delhi". mtnldelhi.in. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.[dead link]
  9. ^ "ABOUT - MTNL MUMBAI".
  10. ^ "MTNL Delhi". mtnldelhi.in. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.[dead link]
  11. ^ "MTNL: Reports, Company History, Directors Report, Chairman's Speech, Auditors Report of MTNL - NDTV". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Govt starts process to delist MTNL for merger with BSNL". MSN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  13. ^ Thakur, Tanay Singh. "BSNL to Operate Mobile Network of MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai Circle". telecomtalk.info/. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  14. ^ Kaur, Gagandeep. "India's Vodafone Idea to shut down 3G network On year 2022". Light Reading.
  15. ^ Phadnis, Aneesh; Lele, Abhijit; Das Gupta, Surajeet (3 February 2023). "Govt gets 33% stake in Vodafone Idea, promoters to invest as well". www.business-standard.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  16. ^ a b "25 years of Mobility in India: The first mobile phone call was made on this day". HT Tech. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  17. ^ "25 Years Ago, the First Mobile Phone Call Was Made in India, Costing Over Rs 8/Minute". News18. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Tribunal Admits Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications For Bankruptcy". NDTV.com. 10 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Modi To Merge With Telstra And Spice". TelecomPaper. 22 June 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Idea acquires Escotel, largest deal in Indian telecom sector". Zee News. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  21. ^ Parbat, Kalyan (2 November 2009). "Idea-Spice merger may ring in gains for Malaysian ally". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  22. ^ Ramesh, Niranjana; Venkataraman, Hemamalini (24 June 2009). "Etisalat enters India, sets up back office at Ambattur in North Chennai". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Etisalat to shut India operations". The Times of India. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  24. ^ "TRAI Directs Loop Mobile To Inform Subscribers of Its Closure". TelecomTalk. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  25. ^ "VIRGIN MOBILE READY TO LAUNCH GSM SERVICE IN INDIA". TelecomTalk. 15 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  26. ^ "Exclusive: Virgin Mobile will be merged into the parent operator Tata Docomo with effect from March 27". TelecomTalk. 26 March 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  27. ^ Bafna, Sanjay (7 March 2010). "Videocon To Launch GSM Mobile Services in 100 Cities in 100 Days". TelecomTalk. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  28. ^ Varma (4 May 2016). "Videocon Telecom to shut down Mobile Services on 11th May 2016". DataReign. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  29. ^ Bafna, Sanjay (3 January 2013). "Videocon To Shut Down GSM Operations in 11 Circles Including Mumbai, Asks Customers To Port Out Before 18 January". TelecomTalk. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  30. ^ "Reliance Communication gets Bombay HC approval for Sistema acquisition". The Economic Times. 8 October 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  31. ^ Pandey, Piyush (28 February 2018). "Aircel files for bankruptcy". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  32. ^ Philipose, Mobis (13 October 2017). "Tata Tele deal: How Airtel is getting a billion-dollar business for free". LiveMint. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  33. ^ a b Parbat, Kalyan; Sengupta, Devina (31 August 2018). "NCLT gives go-ahead to Idea-Vodafone merger". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  34. ^ a b Pandey, Navadha (12 January 2018). "NCLT approves Idea-Vodafone merger". LiveMint. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  35. ^ "Airtel completes Tata merger". Business Line. 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  36. ^ "Service Provider List". Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  37. ^ a b c d "Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st December, 2023" (PDF).
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