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Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, MTNL: How did telecom stocks perform on Sept 29 after TRAI's data release?
5 min read | Updated on September 29, 2026, 15:42 IST
SUMMARY
Telecom stocks were in the focus of investors on September 29, as investors reacted to the August 2026 subscription data release by the regulator TRAI for the domestic market.
Stock list
Telecom stocks were in focus on Tuesday, September 29, after TRAI's August 2026 subscription data release. | Image: Shutterstock
Telecom service provider stocks like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, MTNL, Reliance Communications, and Jio’s parent company (oil-to-telecom conglomerate) Reliance Industries were reacting to the latest subscription data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Data collected from the telecom regulator showed that while service providers like Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and BSNL recorded an increase in the total additions to their wireless subscriber base, other operators noted a reduction in growth or a fall in subscriptions.
Remaining service providers like Bharti Airtel recorded slow growth in the month of August 2026, while both MTNL and Reliance Communications witnessed a decline in subscriptions in the period under review.
With the latest August 2026 subscription data in focus, investors reacted to the listed stocks during the trading session on Tuesday, September 29, with certain telecom stocks gaining while others lagged during the intraday session.
Analysts from Jefferies said that the overall pickup in the telecom sector’s mobile subscriber additions in Aug-26 was positive, while Bharti Airtel was impacted by tariff interventions, with residual pressure likely in Sep-26.
“VIL continued to lose active users ex M2M, although declines moderated vs. the past 12-month avg., suggesting early signs of stabilisation. Home broadband remained the standout, delivering stronger net adds vs. the mobile segment,” said the analysts.
TRAI wireless subscription data
| Company name | August additions | July additions |
|---|---|---|
| Reliance Jio | 24,46,727 | 24,01,562 |
| Bharti Airtel | 21,10,812 | 26,88,348 |
| Vodafone Idea | 5,06,139 | 2,40,114 |
| BSNL | 4,92,831 | 1,68,874 |
| MTNL | (5,879) | (5,744) |
| Reliance Communications | (87) | (23) |
How did the telecom stocks perform?
After dropping to intraday lows in the early market hours, the stock recovered during the trading session, trading 0.73% higher at around ₹1,784.30 ahead of the stock market close on September 29.
Bharti Airtel is India’s second-largest telecom service provider after Reliance Jio.
With a strong growth in total wireless subscriptions across the states of India in August 2026, investors were reacting positively to the update.
Later in the afternoon session, Vodafone India stock wiped out its intraday gains to decline to a low of ₹13.26 per share on Sept. 29. Despite the trend reversal, the stock is set to end higher as of the stock market close on Tuesday.
During the day, the stock fully recovered its intraday losses, surging 1.6% to hit an intraday high of ₹23.32 apiece, in comparison to ₹22.94 apiece at the previous equity market close, as per NSE data.
The stock is set to close in positive territory after the trading session on Sept. 29.
NSE data showed that the stock lost 4.4% to hit a day’s low of ₹0.85 apiece, in contrast to ₹0.89 apiece at the previous equity market close.
Reliance Industries shares witnessed selling pressure on Tuesday’s market amid the overall selling sentiment in the equity market due to the consistent foreign investor outflow, multi-year high US Treasury yields, and the elevated price of global crude oil.
Telecom stocks performance snapshot
| Company name | 5-day returns | 1-month returns | YTD returns |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharti Airtel | -1.7% | -5.1% | -15.3% |
| Vodafone Idea | -6.4% | -9% | 15% |
| MTNL | -2.1% | -14.9% | -36.5% |
| Reliance Communications | -2.2% | 7.4% | 21.6% |
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