RJio’s strategy and early investment in 5G FWA enable reinforce leadership

Reliance Jio has established a commanding lead in India’s 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) market, capturing approximately 85% of the total market share as of January 2025.

According to the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the total number of 5G FWA subscribers in India reached about 5.7 million by the end of January, with Jio accounting for roughly 4.8 million of these connections.

5G FWA market shares-January 2025

Operator	5G FWA Subscribers (million)	Market Share (%)
Reliance Jio	4.8	85
Bharti Airtel	0.87	15
Others	Negligible	—

Source: TRAI, January 2025

This is the first time TRAI has classified 5G FWA as a separate category under wireless, rather than wireline, reflecting the growing importance of wireless home broadband in India’s telecom landscape.

The bulk of 5G FWA connections (5.5 million) are in urban areas, with rural areas accounting for 0.2 million.

Overall telecom subscriber trends
Total telecom subscribers in India rose to 1,192 million (1.19 billion) in January 2025, up from 1,189.92 million in December 2024, marking a monthly growth rate of 0.18%.

Wireless subscriber base (including 5G FWA) reached 1,157 million by the end of January 2025, up from 1,150.66 million in December 2024, a 0.55% monthly increase. Reliance Jio held 40.46 percent, Bharti Airtel 33.61 percent, and Vodafone Idea 17.89 percent of the wireline market in January 2025. BSNL, MTNL and APSFL, the three PSUs access service providers, held 8.04 percent of the wireless market.

Wireline subscribers saw a sharp decline from 39.27 million to 35.03 million, primarily because 5G FWA connections were reclassified from wireline to wireless starting January 2025.Reliance Jio held 36.03 percent, Bharti Airtel 28.45 percent, and Vodafone Idea 2.40 percent of the wireline market in January 2025. BSNL, MTNL and APSFL, the three PSUs access service providers, held 24.77 percent of the wireline market..

Broadband subscribers increased from 944.96 million at the end of December 2024 to 945.16 million at the end of January 2025 with a monthly growth rate of 0.04 percent. RJio had a 50.42 percent market share, Bharti Airtel 30.61 percent, and Vi 13.37 percent.

Wireless Market Share (All Wireless Subscribers, including 5G FWA)

Operator	Subscribers (million)	Market Share (%)
Reliance Jio	465.8	40.46
Bharti Airtel	386.96	33.61
Vodafone Idea	205.92	17.89
BSNL	91.58	7.95
MTNL	1.00	0.09

Key insights
Jio’s aggressive rollout and pricing have enabled it to capture most of the nascent but fast-growing 5G FWA market.

The 5G FWA/home broadband segment is attractive for operators, offering average revenue per user (ARPU) three times higher (₹600–700) than traditional mobile services.

The reclassification of 5G FWA from wireline to wireless has significantly impacted reported subscriber numbers and market shares, primarily benefiting Jio’s wireless statistics.

For complete report, https://www.communicationstoday.co.in/telecom-subscription-data-january-2025-trai/

CT Bureau