Bharti Airtel, Vi, MTNL shares rise as telecom subscriber base grows to 133.7 crore in April; check TRAI data

Bharti Airtel stayed on top in terms of subscriber growth across segments, adding 34.82 lakh net new customers in April, according to the latest Trai data released on May 26.

The company pipped its rival Reliance Jio in net subscriber addition in the wireline segment as well during the month under review.

The total telecom subscriber base grew by 69.5 lakh in April to an all-time high of 133.75 crore, according to the monthly subscribers report released by TRAI.

"The number of total telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,330.58 million at the end of March 2026 to 1,337.54 million at the end of April 2026, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 0.52%," the report said.

Airtel's net new subscriber addition stood at 34.82 lakh, comprising 31.39 lakh in the wireless or mobile segment and 3.43 lakh in the wireline segment in April 2026.

Jio's net subscriber addition stood at 30.84 lakh, which includes 29.42 lakh new mobile connections and 1.42 lakh wireline connections.

The wireless subscriber base, which includes mobile and fixed wireless access connections, increased to 128.89 crore at the end of April 2026 from 128.23 crore recorded in the preceding month.

Vi added 53,257 new subscribers, and BSNL added 76,175. The growth in the segment was marginally mitigated with state-run telecom MTNL losing 33,403 subscribers.

The number of wireline subscribers increased to 4.85 crore at the end of April 2026 from 4.82 crore in March. All three private telecom operators and BSNL gained subscribers while MTNL and Tata Teleservices were losers in the segment.

Tata Teleservices lost 82,407 customers, and MTNL lost 76,633 connections.

The total number of broadband subscribers in the country increased to 107.34 crore at the end of April 2026.

Reliance Jio led the segment with 52.69 crore subscribers. It was followed by Airtel with 37.3 crore subscribers, Vi 12.8 crore, BSNL 2.7 crore, and Atria Convergence with 24.2 lakh subscribers.

How individual stocks are performing on May 27

Shares of Bharti Airtel advanced as much as 0.77% to hit an intraday high of ₹1,861.20 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, compared to the closing price of ₹1,846.90 per unit in the previous session.

At 10:41 AM, the stock was trading 0.60% higher at ₹1,858 per equity share. While the scrip has fallen more than 2% in the past week, it has gained 2% over the month. On a year-to-date basis, it has declined 12%.

The stock of Vi grew as much as 1.06% to reach the session’s peak of ₹14.29 per equity share on May 27, as against the previous closing price of ₹14.14 apiece.

At the time of writing, the share stood at ₹14.19 per unit, marking a 0.35% increase. It has gained 4% in the past week and 46% over the month. On a year-to-date basis, it has advanced 22%.

Despite losing 33,403 wireless subscribers in April 2026, shares of MTNL rose as much as 2.67% to hit an intraday high of ₹31.19 per unit on the NSE on May 27, compared with the closing price of ₹30.38 apiece on Tuesday.

The stock was trading 1.45% higher at ₹30.82 per equity share at the time of writing. While the scrip has surged 7% in the past week, it has lost 3% over the month. On a year-to-date basis, it has fallen 15%.