List of telecom companies in India
(Redirected from Mobile network operators of India)
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: MTNL is yet not merged with BSNL, update accordingly TRAI's telecom subscription report. (October 2024) |
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
[edit]There are 4 pay-for-use DTH service providers and one free-to-air service provider (DD Free Dish) in India.[1]
As of 31 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%) |
| 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)
[edit]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
[edit]As of 31st October 2024 there are around 1150.42 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 October 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)[4]
Jio (39.99%)
Airtel (33.50%)
Vi (18.30%)
BSNL (8.05%)
MTNL (0.17%)
Mobile operators
[edit]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
[edit]| Operator
(Estd.) |
Brands | Total Subscribers (million) | Active Subscribers (million) | Technologies | Ownership | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airtel India (1995) | Airtel | 385.41 | 383.40 | 5G, 4G(VoLTE, VoWiFi), 2G | Bharti Enterprises (66.57) | 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 Mobile (2000) | BSNL | 92.60 | 55.72 | 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. |
| Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (1986) | MTNL | 1.90 | 0.51 | 3G, 2G[7] | Government of India (100%) | MTNL only operates in Delhi and Mumbai.[8] MTNL is in the process of being merged with BSNL. The merger is expected to be completed by 2025.[9] Since January 2021, the operations of MTNL's networks have been outsourced to BSNL.[10] |
| Jio (2016) | Jio | 460.02 | 448.33 | 5G(VoNR), 4G(VoLTE), VoWiFi | Jio Platforms Limited (100%) | Not to be confused with Reliance Communications. |
| Vodafone Idea (2018) | Vi | 210.48 | 178.80 | 5G(in 17 priority circles only), 4G(VoLTE, limited VoWiFi), 3G, 2G[11] | 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'.[12] |
Defunct operators
[edit]As of 23 December 2024, 16 mobile operators have ceased operations in India. The longest operating defunct operator is Aircel , while the oldest is Modi-Telstra[13] - which was also the first mobile operator in the country.[14] Most recently, Reliance Communications ceased operations citing bankruptcy.[15]
| Operator | Started operations | Ceased operations | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modi Telstra[13] | 1990 | Merged into Axiata Spice Communications[16] | |
| Escotel | 1996 | Merged into Idea Cellular[17] | |
| Hutch Essar | 1999 | Acquired by Vodafone to form Vodafone India | |
| Axiata Spice Communications | 1992 | Merged into Idea Cellular[18] | |
| S Tel | 2012 | Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India | |
| Etisalat | 2010[19] | 2012 | Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India[20] |
| BPL Mobile (Loop Mobile) | 1995 | 2014 | Ceased operations after expiration of licence[21] |
| Virgin Mobile India / T24 Mobile | 2009[22] | 2015 | Merged into Tata Docomo [23] |
| Singtel | 2009 | 2017 | Acquired by Reliance Communications |
| Videocon Telecom | 2010[24] | 2016 | Shut down following sale of spectrum to Bharti Airtel[25][26] |
| MTS India | 2009 | 2017 | Acquired by Reliance Communications[27] |
| Aircel | 1999 | 2018 | Bankrupt[28] |
| Telenor India | 2006 | 2018 | Acquired by Bharti Airtel[29] |
| Idea Cellular | 2002 | 2018 | Merged with Vodafone India to form Vi[30][31] |
| Vodafone India | 2011 | 2018 | Merged with Idea Cellular to form Vi[30][31] |
| Tata Docomo | 2009 | 2019 | Acquired by Bharti Airtel[32] |
| Reliance Communications | 2004 | 2019 | Declared bankruptcy, subsequently acquired by Reliance JIO[15] |
Wireline operators
[edit]Fixed-line operators
[edit]As of 31 October 2024, there are 37.79 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 31 October 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India[2]
Jio (41.51%)
Airtel (25.25%)
BSNL (16.14%)
Tata Teleservices (6.40%)
Vi (2.24%)
Others (8.46%)
| Operator | Subscribers[1] (lakh) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Jio | 156.84 | Jio Platforms |
| Airtel | 95.42 | Bharti Airtel |
| BSNL | 60.98 | Government of India |
| Tata Teleservices | 23.73 | Tata Group |
| Vi | 8.48 | Vodafone Idea Limited |
| Quadrant | 3.56 | |
| Reliance Communications | 1.17 | Reliance ADAG |
Internet service providers (ISPs)
[edit]Internet service providers (ISPs) offering broadband (wired + wireless) services. The total number of broadband subscribers stood at 944.40 million as of 30 September 2024.[33][34] Total Wireless broadband subscribers stood at 899.79 million and wireline broadband subscribers stood at 44.62 million.[4] The top 5 services constituted 98.42% market share of the total broadband subscribers.[34]
As of 30 September 2024, top five Wireless Broadband Service providers
| Operator | Subscribers[34] (million) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| Jio | 463.78 | Jio Platforms |
| Airtel | 276.68 | Bharti Airtel |
| Vi | 126.35 | Vodafone Idea Limited |
| BSNL | 33.50 | Government of India |
| Intech Online Pvt. Ltd | 0.25 |
The following table shows the top 5 wired broadband service providers in India by total subscriber base as of 30 April 2024.
| Provider | Subscribers[34] (million) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| JioFiber | 14.16 | Jio Platforms |
| Airtel | 8.48 | Bharti Airtel |
| BSNL | 4.23 | Government of India |
| ACT | 2.27 | Atria Convergence |
| KVBL | 1.22 | Kerala Vision Broadband Ltd |
Other notable ISPs
[edit]| 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
[edit]| 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
[edit]| 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
[edit]- Telecommunications in India
- List of mobile network operators
- Direct-to-home television in India
- List of mobile network operators of the Asia Pacific region
- Internet in India
Notes
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators January–March, 2024" (PDF). trai.com.
- ^ a b c d "Telecom Subscription Reports". TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c "Telecom Subscription Data as on 31 Octomber 2024". Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
- ^ "Bharti Hexacom". Bharti Hexacom.
- ^ "BSNL customers can activate Vi roaming network in Delhi and NCR, here is how". India Today. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "MTNL Delhi". mtnldelhi.in. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.[dead link]
- ^ "MTNL: Reports, Company History, Directors Report, Chairman's Speech, Auditors Report of MTNL - NDTV". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ "Govt starts process to delist MTNL for merger with BSNL". MSN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Thakur, Tanay Singh. "BSNL to Operate Mobile Network of MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai Circle". telecomtalk.info/. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ Kaur, Gagandeep. "India's Vodafone Idea to shut down 3G network On year 2022". Light Reading.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Modi To Merge With Telstra And Spice". TelecomPaper. 22 June 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Idea acquires Escotel, largest deal in Indian telecom sector". Zee News. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Etisalat to shut India operations". The Times of India. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Pandey, Piyush (28 February 2018). "Aircel files for bankruptcy". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Airtel completes Tata merger". Business Line. 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ "Service Provider List". Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st December, 2023" (PDF).
External links
[edit]- ISP market share grouped by ASNs used (APNIC report)
- List of ASNs assigned to India
- List of Telecom Service Providers on TRAI website
- Department of Telecommunications, Government of India
- Updates on telecom
- Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
- Cellular Operators Association of India
- List of Telecom Service Providers on TRAI website
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