Airtel outpaces Jio in July mobile subscriber additions

Bharti Airtel extended its competitive edge in India's mobile telecommunications market during July, gaining 2.68 million net subscribers to lead industry growth for the month. Reliance Jio, the country's largest telecom operator by user base, followed closely with 2.44 million net additions, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Vodafone Idea added 240,000 mobile users during the month, while state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd posted gains of 168,000 wireless subscribers. The aggregate additions across all operators expanded India's mobile subscriber base by 5.54 million to reach 1.288 billion by the end of July, up from 1.282 billion in June.

India's broadband sector also showed steady expansion, with the total broadband subscriber base growing to 1.094 billion from 1.088 billion in the previous month, representing a monthly growth rate of 0.64 per cent. The data encompassed information from 1,562 operators across the country's telecommunications network.