Jio captured 67.56% of FY2026 fixed-broadband additions

Jio Platforms captured 67.56% of India’s fixed-broadband net additions in FY2026, as fixed-wireless access, or FWA, contributed 9.8 million of the industry’s 14.2 million additions. Jio had 27.1 million fixed-broadband customers, a 42.60% overall market share, and held 77.49% of the advanced FWA segment.

How did Jio capture 67.56% of fixed-broadband additions in FY2026?

Jio captured 67.56% of FY2026 fixed-broadband net additions because FWA accounted for most new industry customers and Jio led the advanced wireless category. India added 14.2 million fixed-broadband customers in FY2026, including 9.8 million through FWA. FWA delivers home broadband using radio spectrum instead of a physical last-mile fibre connection.

Jio also accounted for about 66% of fixed-broadband net additions from its FWA launch in September 2023 through FY2026. Its 27.1 million fixed-broadband customers in FY2026 represented 42.60% of India’s 63.6 million total fixed-broadband customers, indicating that its share of FY2026 additions exceeded its share of the installed customer base.

India’s technology mix changed materially between FY2019 and FY2026. Fibre-to-the-x, or FTTx, refers to fibre-based access delivered close to or directly to premises, while 5G/unlicensed band radio, or UBR, FWA refers to advanced wireless fixed-broadband access technologies. FTTx and 5G/UBR FWA together accounted for 97.27% of fixed-broadband customers by FY2026, compared with 6.85% represented by FTTx in FY2019.

What is Jio’s position in India’s fixed-broadband market?

Jio was India’s largest fixed-broadband provider in FY2026, with 27.1 million customers and a 42.60% overall share. Bharti Airtel had 14.4 million customers and a 22.71% share, BSNL had 4.5 million and a 7.09% share, and other internet service providers had 17.1 million and a 26.82% share. Other FWA services without an operator split accounted for 0.5 million customers, or 0.77%.

Jio’s 27.1 million customer base was about 1.9 times Bharti Airtel’s 14.4 million. Jio also led fixed wired broadband with a 30.60% market share, and all of its wired-broadband customers were served using fibre technology. The filing states that Jio was the first Indian operator to cross 10 million fibre-broadband customers, reaching that milestone within 51 months of commercial launch.

The market remains split between Jio, national competitors and regional internet service providers. Jio’s 42.60% overall share was lower than its 67.56% share of FY2026 net additions, while other internet service providers retained 26.82% of the installed market. For Jio’s expansion rate to continue, its new installations must remain ahead of customer additions by these providers and Bharti Airtel.

Why is fixed-wireless access central to Jio’s growth?

FWA is central to Jio’s growth because it can extend fixed broadband without laying last-mile fibre, particularly in locations with limited existing fibre infrastructure. Jio had 12.9 million 5G/UBR FWA customers in FY2026 and a 77.49% share of the advanced FWA segment. Bharti Airtel had 3.7 million advanced FWA customers and other providers had 0.5 million.

Jio’s FWA deployment is supported by contiguous C-band spectrum and standalone 5G, or 5G SA. Jio is one of two providers with at least 100 megahertz of contiguous C-band spectrum across all digital connectivity circles, including 130 megahertz in eight circles. Contiguous spectrum consists of adjoining airwave blocks that can be used together to support higher-capacity network deployment.

Jio’s 5G SA network operates independently of 4G infrastructure and supports network slicing, which creates dedicated virtual network lanes with specified performance characteristics. The filing says this architecture can support FWA performance during periods of heavy mobile traffic. Sustained FWA growth nevertheless depends on spectrum capacity, backhaul infrastructure, household installations and continuing demand for fixed broadband.

How much room does India have for fixed-broadband growth?

India had further fixed-broadband growth potential because household penetration was about 20% in FY2026, compared with more than 70% globally excluding India. The customer base more than tripled from 19.7 million in FY2019 to 63.6 million in FY2026. The filing projects 150.4 million fixed-broadband customers and about 46% household penetration by FY2031.

The opportunity is particularly pronounced in rural areas. Fixed-broadband penetration was about 42% in urban India but about 6% in rural India as of March 31, 2026, a 36-percentage-point difference. Wider FWA coverage is identified as a means of addressing locations where fibre infrastructure has been limited.

The filing estimates that up to 137 million households could afford fixed broadband in FY2026, rising to up to 201 million by FY2031. This estimate uses annual disposable income above Rs 8.29 lakh as the affordability threshold and assumes digital connectivity spending equals about 1.2% of disposable income across mobile and fixed services. It measures a potential addressable household pool rather than current subscriptions.

India’s fixed-broadband market is projected to rise from Rs 34,000-35,000 crore in FY2026 to Rs 92,000-93,000 crore by FY2031. The projected increase in customers from 63.6 million to 150.4 million implies an 18.77% compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, over FY2026 to FY2031. CAGR is the annualised rate of change over a defined multi-year period.

What could determine whether Jio sustains its fixed-broadband lead?

Jio’s lead depends on converting its FWA, fibre and network capacity into installations faster than competitors as the market expands. India averaged more than 1.2 million fixed-broadband additions a month in FY2026, while the FY2031 projection requires broader coverage and increased household affordability. Jio’s 77.49% advanced-FWA share gives it scale in the technology that supplied 9.8 million of FY2026 industry additions.

Demand in the filing is linked to applications requiring reliable capacity, including artificial intelligence applications, remote work, online learning, 4K over-the-top streaming and cloud gaming. Jio offers packages combining broadband, linear-TV-like services and digital content. Bharti Airtel’s 22.71% overall fixed-broadband share and 3.7 million advanced-FWA customers show that Jio’s FWA position is concentrated but not exclusive.

Conclusion

Jio’s 67.56% share of FY2026 fixed-broadband net additions reflects the importance of FWA in India’s recent market expansion. Jio combined a 42.60% overall fixed-broadband customer share with a 77.49% share of advanced FWA, while FWA represented 9.8 million of the industry’s 14.2 million additions in FY2026.

The next measure to watch is progress toward the filing’s projection of 150.4 million fixed-broadband customers by FY2031, from 63.6 million in FY2026. That outlook is tied to wider FWA coverage, especially in rural India where penetration was about 6% as of March 31, 2026, and to affordability reaching an estimated 201 million households by FY2031.