India’s telephone subscriber base fell to 1.17 billion in December quarter

New Delhi: India’s overall telephone subscribers base declined to 1.17 billion in October-December from 1.19 billion a quarter ago, registering a fall of 1.9%, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday. The decline in the country’s overall subscriber base was driven by both urban and rural areas.

The country’s total wireless subscriber base also declined to 1.15 billion in October-December from 1.17 billion in the last quarter, recording a contraction of 1.9% quarter-on-quarter. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, wireless subscriptions decreased 2.09% during the December quarter, Trai said.

“Out of the total subscription, the share of rural subscription increased from 43.28% at the end of Sep-19 to 43.50% at the end of Dec-19,” Trai said in a statement.