India adds 7.3 cr internet subscribers in FY24

Over 7.3 crore internet subscribers were added within the last financial year, pushing the total internet subscriber base to 95.4 crore, accounting for 68% of the country’s population, as per the latest report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The internet subscriber count has seen a yearly growth of 8.3% from last year's count of 88.1 crore.

The surge was driven primarily by broadband services, which saw a 9.15% rise, adding 7.8 crore subscribers and boosting the total to 92.4 crore. This sharp increase highlights the nation's accelerating demand for high-speed internet, with broadband now dominating the market, while narrowband subscribers have decreased to just 3.03 crore.

The subscriber distribution includes 556.05 million from urban areas and 398.35 million from rural regions. The report also highlights a notable increase in data usage, with more than 68 internet subscribers per 100 people. As of March 2024, mobile wireless connections accounted for over 95.7% of the internet subscriber base, reaching 91.3 crore, up 7.93% from 84.6 crore in March 2023. In contrast, wired connections comprised only 4.22% of the total.

Total wireless data usage surged 21.69% from 1,60,054 petabytes (PB) in 2022-23 to 1,94,774 PB in 2023-24.

The latest annual report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reveals significant advancements in the telecom sector, highlighting key growth trends and parameters based on data from service providers.

The report revealed that India's teledensity, which measures the proportion of telephone connections per 100 people, rose from 84.51% in March 2023 to 85.69% in March 2024, reflecting a 1.39% annual growth. Telephone subscribers increased by 2.3%, from 117.2 crore to 119.9 crore.

The average monthly usage per subscriber increased from 919 minutes to 963 minutes, marking a 4.73% rise. The adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for the telecom sector also grew by 8.24%, reaching ₹2,70,504 crore in March this year, up from ₹2,49,908 crore in March last year.