According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the total subscriber base in the country stood at 937.70 million at the end of September 2012.

Of this, the wireless user base was 906.62 million and the number of wireline subscribers stood at 31.08 million. Net monthly user additions for both segments continued to decline, at -1.74 million for wireless and -0.13 million for wireline.

In the wireless segment, private operators held 88.43 per cent market share, while Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) held 11.57 per cent share. Bharti Airtel led the space, with 20.51 per cent market share. It was followed by Vodafone India (16.84 per cent), Reliance (14.87 per cent), Idea Cellular (12.74 per cent) and BSNL (10.99 per cent).

In the wireline space, BSNL and MTNL together hold 79.93 per cent market share. Other players in this segment include Bharti Airtel (10.53 per cent market share), TTSL (4.74 per cent), Reliance (4.05 per cent), HFCL (0.61 per cent), Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (0.16 per cent) and Vodafone India (0.07 per cent).

The number of wireless urban subscribers at the end of September stood at 571.70 million, a 0.60 per cent increase over the previous month. Rural wireless users stood at 334.92 million, a 0.51 per cent increase over August 2012. Meanwhile, the number of urban wireline users stood at 23.99 million, while rural wireline users were 7.10 million.

Overall teledensity at the end of September 2012 stood at 77.04 per cent, of which wireless teledensity was 74.49 per cent and wireline teledensity was 2.55 per cent.

The number of requests for mobile number portability (MNP) increased from 64.92 million subscribers at the end of August 2012 to 69.78 million at the end of September 2012. In the month of September, 4.86 million requests were made for MNP. In MNP Zone-I (Northern and Western India) the maximum number of requests have been received in Rajasthan (6.70 million) followed by Gujarat (6.08 million). In MNP Zone-II (Southern and Eastern) the maximum number of requests have been received in Karnataka (8.64 million) followed by Andhra Pradesh (6.55 million). In the month of September 2012, the total number of subscribers who submitted their request for MNP is 4.86 million.

The number of active wireless subscribers on the date of peak visitor location register (VLR) in September was 698.96 million, which constitutes 77.10 per cent of the total number of subscribers. Circle-wise, Maharashtra has the highest proportion of VLR subscribers with 84.71 per cent, followed by Jammu & Kashmir (84.55 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (81.99 per cent). Tamil Nadu (including Chennai) has the lowest proportion with 68.58 per cent. Service provider wise, Idea leads the tally with 94.46 per cent, followed by Bharti (91.83 per cent).

Broadband subscription reached 15.08 million in September, from 14.82 million in August 2012. As on September 30, 2012, there are 157 internet service providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country. The top five ISPs in terms of market share (based on subscriber base) are BSNL (9.58 million), Bharti Airtel (1.39 million), MTNL (1.06 million), You Broadband (0.72 million) and Hathway (0.37 million).