Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 8 (ANI): India's broadband subscriber base expanded steadily over the past year, adding 2 crore 5 lakh new users by the end of March 2025, reflecting an annual growth rate of 2.17 per cent, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) yearly data released on Tuesday.

The TRAI data shows that out of a total of 969.10 million internet subscribers, the number of broadband subscribers is 944.12 million and the number of narrowband subscribers is 24.98 million at the end of March 2025.

The data shows that the total number of internet subscribers increased from 954.40 million at the end of Mar-24 to 969.10 million at the end of Mar-25 with a yearly rate of growth of 1.54 per cent.

The rise signals increasing digital adoption across the country, driven by wider mobile broadband access, affordable data plans, and growing internet penetration in rural and semi-urban areas.

The annual data suggests that India's telecom sector saw modest overall growth in FY 2024-25, with sharp increases in data consumption and revenue offsetting stagnation in subscriber expansion, according to the latest annual performance indicators.

The total number of telephone subscribers in the country rose marginally from 1,199.28 million at the end of March 2024 to 1,200.80 million in March 2025, registering a modest 0.13 per cent annual growth.

However, wireless subscribers declined slightly from 1,165.49 million to 1,163.76 million, showing a net loss of 1.74 million users and a 0.15 per cent drop.

In contrast, wireline connections saw mild stability, with 37.04 million users at the end of the year.

Despite the subscriber plateau, telecom companies witnessed a robust increase in user spending. The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for wireless services surged 16.89 per cent to Rs 174.46 per month in FY25 from Rs 149.25 in FY24. Prepaid ARPU rose from Rs 146.37 to Rs 173.84, while postpaid ARPU saw a slight decline from Rs 184.63 to Rs 180.86.

User engagement also improved, with average monthly minutes of usage (MoUs) per subscriber rising 3.91 per cent to 1,000 minutes, driven by increased usage among prepaid users. Postpaid usage, however, dropped from 544 to 503 minutes per month.

On the data front, India added 2.62 crore new wireless data users, growing from 913.34 million to 939.51 million, a 2.87 per cent increase. Data consumption soared, with total wireless data usage rising 17.46 per cent year-on-year to reach 2,28,779 petabytes (PB). This pushed wireless data revenue up by 15.49 per cent to Rs 2,15,078 crore for the year.

However, tele-density, which reflects phone connections per 100 people, slipped from 85.69 per cent to 85.04 per cent, indicating a slight contraction in connectivity growth. Urban tele-density dropped from 133.72 per cent to 131.45 per cent, while rural tele-density saw a minor fall from 59.19 per cent to 59.06 per cent, despite small increases in rural and urban subscriptions.

Rural markets accounted for a growing share of total connections, with their contribution inching up from 44.52 per cent to 44.53 per cent of all subscribers.

The numbers highlight a sector in transition--marked by increasing digital engagement and monetisation but facing saturation in traditional voice and subscriber growth. (ANI)