Reliance Jio registers strong subscriber growth, maintains broadband leadership, say leading brokerages

NEW DELHI: Several leading brokerages have projected a strong outlook for Reliance Jio, citing robust subscriber additions, rising market share, and continued dominance in both mobile and broadband segments. Almost all major brokerages, including Jefferies, ICICI Securities, Axis Capital and JM Financial, have presented a positive outlook for Jio and are upbeat on the company.

Jefferies reported that India’s active mobile subscribers in October 2025 registered a sharp rise, with the industry adding 5.7 million users, the strongest growth in five months. It mentioned that Jio led this surge with 3.9 million additions and outperformed Bharti Airtel for the eighth consecutive month in active subscriber gains.

Jefferies noted that strong subscriber momentum in CYTD25 and growing data penetration support healthy ARPU growth. ARPU growth is the increase in the average revenue per user (ARPU) over a specific period. It stated, “Jio’s active subscriber market share has risen by 150bps to 43 per cent, driven by mkt share gains across circles”

The report shared that over the past year, Jio’s active subscriber market share increased driven by gains across all circles, 60 bps in Metros, 150 bps in A-circles, 170 bps in B-circles, and 120 bps in C-circles. In the telecom sector, Circle A, Circle B, and Circle C are classifications for the country’s 22 licenced service areas (LSAs) based on their revenue potential and market characteristics. The brokerage said Jio’s sustained lead over Bharti in active additions is positive for the sector’s tariff outlook.

Other brokerage, ICICI Securities said Jio’s active subscriber market share rose 14 basis points month-on-month to 43.5 per cent in October, while Bharti’s increased 6 bps to 35.8 per cent. Vodafone Idea’s share declined by 12 bps to 15.6 per cent.

It noted that Jio’s fixed wireless access (FWA) subscriber base reached 10.2 million, up 7 per cent. The brokerage highlighted that Jio held a dominant 80.3 per cent share in the FWA segment. In wired broadband, Jio’s market share improved from 40.4 per cent in September to 41.1 per cent in October 2025.

Axis Capital highlighted that the Jio’s broadband business is expanding rapidly, estimating a strong 40-50 per cent year-on-year growth.

With only 56 million broadband subscribers in the country and penetration at roughly 16 per cent of households, the brokerage sees significant room for expansion. It added that ARPUs in broadband are about 2.5 times higher than mobile, making it a lucrative segment.

Axis noted that FWA has quickly grown to 17 per cent of overall broadband subscribers and accounts for 60-65 per cent of monthly broadband additions. It stated, “Jio has been ahead so far (approx. 75 per cent subs market share Jio currently dominates the FWA segment with a 75 per cent share, followed by Bharti at 25 per cent”.

Another brokerage JM Financial observed that Jio continued strong performance in the home broadband segment, which includes FTTH, UBR and 5G FWA, by adding 0.88 million subscribers in October 2025. Fibre to the Home (FTTH), Unlicensed Band Radio (UBR), and Fifth-Generation Fixed Wireless Access (5G FWA) are all technologies used to provide high-speed internet connectivity.

The brokerage noted that this growth was largely supported by JioAirFiber. In the 5G FWA sub-segment alone (excluding UBR), Jio added 0.31 million subscribers and maintained a 74.6 per cent market share at the end of October, compared with 75.3 per cent in September.

Bharti Airtel also saw steady additions of 0.31 million subscribers in the home broadband category. As the many brokerages are upbeat on the company, the overall outlook remains positive for Reliance Jio, backed by strong subscriber additions, rapid broadband expansion, and continued market leadership across segments. (ANI)