List of telecom companies in India

telecom services providing companies are regulated by Department of Telecommunications and TRAI under Ministry of Communications, Government of India.

Direct-to-home (DTH) operators

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

As of 30 September 2024, there are 59.91 million active DTH subscribers, in addition to the subscribers of state-owned DD Free Dish, in the country according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Market share of pay DTH operators in India as of 30 September 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

  Tata Play (31.99%)

  Bharti Telemedia Limited (29.38%)

  Dish TV (19.53%)

  Sun Direct (19.10%)

Operator	Market share	Ownership
Tata Play	31.99%	Tata Group (50.2%) Disney India (29.8%) Temasek (20%)
Bharti Telemedia Limited	29.38%	Airtel (100%)
Dish TV	19.53%	Publicly Owned (95.96%)
Sun Direct	19.10%	Sun TV Network (80%) Astro (20%)
DD Free Dish		Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (100%)

Notes

• DD free dish is a free-to-air service hence their subscriber data is not shown in the TRAI performance report.^[1]

Multiple-system operators (MSOs)

See also: List of cable television companies § India

As of 30 September 2024, there are 845 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	89,74,192
2	Hathway Digital Ltd	51,74,077
3	Siti Networks Ltd	48,10,710
4	Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication Pvt Ltd. (TCCL)	38,03,451
5	Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL)	36,48,628
6	Den Networks Ltd	32,52,764
7	NXT Digital Ltd (HITS)	24,39,067
8	KAL Cables	19,50,373
9	V K Digital Network Pvt. Ltd	15,60,585
10	Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (TACTV)	14,78,718
11	Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd	13,15,751
12	NXT Digital Ltd (CATV)	12,33,233

Wireless operators

As of 30th November 2024 there are around 1148.65 million wireless subscribers in India according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).^[2]

Market share of Wireless Mobile operators in India as of 30th November 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)^[3]

  Jio (40.15%)

  Airtel (33.45%)

  Vodafone Idea (18.19%)

  BSNL (8.03%)

  MTNL (0.17%)

Mobile operators

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

List of active mobile operators in the country (as on 30th November 2024)

Operator (Estd.)	Brands	Total Subscribers (million)	Active Subscribers (million)	Technologies	Ownership	Notes
Airtel (1995)	Airtel	384.27	380.37	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%.[4] Subscriber count and active users include Bharti Hexacom.
BSNL Mobile (2000)	BSNL	92.26	55.67	4G, 3G, 2G	Government of India (100%)	BSNL does not directly operate in Delhi and Mumbai.[5] BSNL (VNO's) operates only in Tamil Nadu.
MTNL (1986)	MTNL	1.90	0.49	3G, 2G[6]	Government of India (100%)	MTNL only operates in Delhi and Mumbai.[7] MTNL is in the process of being merged with BSNL. The merger is expected to be completed by 2025.[8] Since January 2021, the operations of MTNL's networks have been outsourced to BSNL.[9]
Jio (2016)	Jio	461.23	447.20	5G(VoNR), 4G(VoLTE), VoWiFi	Jio Platforms (100%)	Not to be confused with Reliance Communications.
Vodafone Idea (2018)	Vi	208.95	178.80	5G(in 17 priority circles only), 4G(VoLTE, limited VoWiFi), 3G, 2G[10]	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'.[11]

Defunct operators

As of 23 January 2025, 16 mobile operators have ceased operations in India. The longest operating defunct operator is Aircel , while the oldest is Modi-Telstra^[12] - which was also the first mobile operator in the country.^[13] Most recently, Reliance Communications ceased operations citing bankruptcy.^[14]

List of notable mobile operators that provided services in the country (as on 23 January 2025)

Operator	Started operations	Ceased operations	Fate
Modi Telstra	1990[12]		Merged into Axiata[15]
Escotel	1996		Merged into Idea Cellular[16]
Axiata	1992		Merged into Idea Cellular[17]
S Tel	2012		Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India
Etisalat	2010[18]	2012	Licence cancelled by the Supreme Court of India[19]
Loop Mobile	1995	2014	Ceased operations after expiration of licence[20]
Virgin Mobile / T24 Mobile	2009[21]	2015	Merged into Tata DoCoMo [22]
Singtel	2009	2017	Acquired by Reliance Communications
Videocon Telecom	2010[23]	2016	Shut down following sale of spectrum to Airtel[24][25]
MTS	2009	2017	Acquired by Reliance Communications[26]
Aircel	1999	2018	Bankrupt[27]
Telenor	2006	2018	Acquired by Airtel[28]
Idea Cellular	2002	2018	Merged with Vodafone India to form Vodafone Idea[29][30]
Vodafone India	2011	2018	Merged with Idea Cellular to form Vodafone Idea[29][30]
Tata DoCoMo	2009	2019	Acquired by Airtel[31]
Reliance Communications	2004	2019	Declared bankruptcy, subsequently acquired by Jio[14]

Wireline operators

Fixed-line operators

As of 30 November 2024, there are 38.50 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 30 November 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India^[2]

  Jio (42.33%)

  Airtel (25.15%)

  BSNL (15.81%)

  Tata Teleservices (6.11%)

  Vi (2.21%)

  Others (8.37%)

Operator	Subscribers[1] (lakh)	Ownership
JioFiber	162.99	Jio Platforms
Airtel	96.85	Bharti Airtel
BSNL	60.88	Government of India
Tata Teleservices	23.51	Tata Group
Vi	8.51	Vodafone Group Aditya Birla Group
Quadrant	3.56	Videocon Telecom
Reliance Communications	1.17	Reliance Group

Internet service providers (ISPs)

Internet service providers (ISPs) offering broadband (wired + wireless) services. The total number of broadband subscribers stood at 941.47 million as of 30 November 2024.^[32][33] Total Wireless broadband subscribers stood at 903.79 million and wireline broadband subscribers stood at 40.97 million.^[3] The top 5 services constituted 98.42% market share of the total broadband subscribers.^[33]

Market share of broadband (wired + wireless) services in India as of 30th November 2024, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)^[3]

  Jio (50.44%)

  Airtel (30.62%)

  Vi (13.21%)

  BSNL (3.91%)

  ACT (0.24%)

  Others (1.58%)

As of 30 November 2024, top five Wireless Broadband Service providers

Operator	Subscribers[33] (million)	Ownership
JioFiber	465.10	Jio Platforms
Airtel	280.76	Bharti Airtel
Vi	124.78	Vodafone Group Aditya Birla Group
BSNL	32.68	Government of India
Intech Online	0.25

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

Provider	Subscribers[33] (million)	Ownership
JioFiber	11.48	Jio Platforms
Airtel	8.55	Bharti Airtel
BSNL	4.24	Government of India
ACT	2.27	India Value Fund Advisors TA Associates
KVBL	1.25

Other notable ISPs

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

For enterprise/wholesale only

Provider	Ownership
CtrlS Datacenters	CtrlS Labs
ERNET	Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
GAILTEL	Government of India
National Knowledge Network (for educational institutions only)	Government of India
PowerTel	Government of India
Tulip Telecom	Tulip Enterprises

Telecom R&D firms

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

• 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

References

1. "The Indian Telecom Subscription Data, November 2024" (PDF).
2. "Telecom Subscription Reports". TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA.
3. "Telecom Subscription Data as on 30 November 2024".
4. "Bharti Hexacom". Bharti Hexacom.
5. "BSNL customers can activate Vi roaming network in Delhi and NCR, here is how". India Today. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
6. "MTNL Delhi". mtnldelhi.in. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
7. "MTNL: Reports, Company History, Directors Report, Chairman's Speech, Auditors Report of MTNL - NDTV". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
8. "Govt starts process to delist MTNL for merger with BSNL". MSN. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
9. Thakur, Tanay Singh. "BSNL to Operate Mobile Network of MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai Circle". telecomtalk.info/. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
10. Kaur, Gagandeep. "India's Vodafone Idea to shut down 3G network On year 2022". Light Reading.
11. 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.
12. "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.
13. "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.
14. "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.
15. "Modi To Merge With Telstra And Spice". TelecomPaper. 22 June 2000. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
16. "Idea acquires Escotel, largest deal in Indian telecom sector". Zee News. 15 January 2004. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. "Etisalat to shut India operations". The Times of India. 23 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
20. "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.
21. "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.
22. "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.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. "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.
27. Pandey, Piyush (28 February 2018). "Aircel files for bankruptcy". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
28. 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.
29. 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.
30. Pandey, Navadha (12 January 2018). "NCLT approves Idea-Vodafone merger". LiveMint. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
31. "Airtel completes Tata merger". Business Line. 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 9 September 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
32. "Service Provider List". Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
33. "Telecom Subscription Data as on 31st December, 2023" (PDF).

External links

• 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