Reliance Jio has 40% share of India's broadband connections: Trai

Reliance Jio Infocomm leads the broadband internet market in India with 40-per cent share while Airtel comes as the next big provider of broadband internet, according to the Telecom Regulatory and Authority of India (Trai).

TRAI, which considers internet connections with 512kbps of more speed as broadband, said BSNL is the leader in the market in wired broadband connections.

Mukesh Ambai-led Reliance Jio became the country's largest provider of broadband connections just six months after it launched telecom operations, according to data by the telecom regulator.

The figure is for February, and takes into account both wired and wireless connections with Trai taking 512Kbps as the minimum speed to qualify as broadband.

The report adds that India's broadband user base increased to 261.31 million, up 2.98 per cent from 253.75 million. Reliance Jio, which provides broadband only via its 4G mobile network, accounted for 102.84 million (39.36 per cent) of this, according to Trai.

Airtel, which offers both mobile and wired internet services, is the second-biggest player in the industry with 46.69 million broadband connections (17.87 per cent), according to the Trai report. Reliance Jio and Airtel are followed by Vodafone (32.06 million, 12.27 per cent), Idea Cellular (24.31 million, 9.3 per cent), and BSNL (20.81 million, 7.69 per cent). Other wired and mobile service providers together accounted for 34.6 million or 13.24 per cent of the total broadband connections.

In the wireless (mobile) broadband service, Reliance Jio with 102.84 million connections leads the pack, and is followed by Airtel (44.62 million), Vodafone (32.05 million), Idea Cellular (24.31 million) and Reliance Communications.

BSNL, with its 14.04 million mobile broadband connections, has lost out to Reliance Communications in the list.

The list of internet service providers (ISPs) delivering broadband speeds via wired connections is topped by BSNL with its 9.95 million connections. It is followed by Airtel (2.07 million), ACT Fibernet (1.14 million), MTNL (1.03 million), and YOU Broadband (0.62 million).

Reliance Jio's entry into wired service through its Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband in the coming months could soon change the order.

Reliance Jio's home broadband service is expected to launch with ultra-low cost plans.