India crosses 93.6 crore internet subscriptions: TRAI

India crossed 93.6 crore (936 million) internet subscriptions in December 2023, according to the latest subscriber report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or TRAI. The burgeoning figure, which precisely stands at 936.16 million, records a close to two per cent rise in subscription since the quarter before.

Mobile phone-driven wireless internet marks the highest number of subscribers, at 897.59 million while wired broadband currently reaches 38.57 million homes, according to the report. The older narrowband technology has dwindled to around 31.6 million users in India.

The TRAI report shows that surge in demand for phones and high-speed data has now moved beyond the big cities. A record 527.77 million rural residents are at present digitally connected, and the rural domain accounts for 59 per cent tele-density. Overall, more than 44 per cent of the country’s telephone users base at the end of 2023 were from rural India.

Mobile phone sales are at a high, too, with 1.16 billion wireless numbers. The wired landline, on the other hand, saw a mere 2.8 per cent growth, to scale 31.8 million sales. Overall, telephone subscriptions numbered more than 1.19 billion, which marks a slim 0.78 per cent growth from the earlier quarter, according to the report.

Average Revenue Per User, or ARPU, of telecom operators also saw an upward spurt during this quarter, according to the report released by TRAI. Postpaid mobile ARPU was notably steady at Rs 189 per month. Overall, quarter-over-quarter, ARPU increased by almost two per cent to Rs 152.55, which reflects an eight per cent increase on a yearly basis,