Wireless subscribers across India 2010-2023

There were over 1.15 billion wireless mobile subscribers across India at the end of 2023. That year, a majority of the traffic was from 4G data payload. The penetration rate of 4G users was recorded at about 44 percent across the country during 2020. Reliance Jio was the leading service provider as of December 2023, with over 459.8 million subscriptions. 

Mobile communications in India

With a subscriber base of over 1.14 billion, the Indian telecommunication sector was the second largest in the world. The smartphone market is spoilt for choice with a range of models in every price category. Digitization of processes and increased social media influence has made smartphones an integral part of daily routines. Indians ranked second for daily mobile internet usage across Asia Pacific.

Road ahead

By the end of 2020, the mobile industry was expected to contribute over eight percent to the country’s GDP. Telecom sector revenue was expected to grow to around 26 billion U.S. dollars during the same time period.