New Delhi, Sep 4 : India's internet subscribers surpassed 1 billion, reaching 1,002.85 million by June 30, 2025, surging 3.48 per cent from March, driven by broadband growth, government data said.

According to a report from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), of these over 100 crore subscribers, 4.47 crore had wired internet connections, while 95.81 crore have wireless connections.

Broadband subscribers increased by 3.77 per cent to 979.71 million, while narrowband users decreased to 23.14 million. Total telephone subscribers reached 1,218.36 million in the March-June 2025 quarter, marking a 1.46 per cent increase from the previous quarter.

This raised the overall tele-density to 86.09 per cent, up from 85.04 per cent the previous quarter, an official release said.

In terms of demographics, urban internet subscribers number around 57.94 crore, while rural internet subscribers are not far behind at 42.33 crore, it added.

The data indicated that the monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for wireless services is Rs 186.62, while the average Minutes of Usage (MOU) per wireless subscriber each month is 16.76 hours.

The telecom sector's gross revenue reached Rs. 96,646 crore, a 1.63 per cent decline from the previous quarter but a 12.34 per cent increase year-on-year. Adjusted gross revenue was Rs. 81,325 crore, up 2.65 per cent from the last quarter. Access services accounted for 83.62 per cent of adjusted gross revenue.

The licence fees rose by 2.63 per cent to Rs 6,506 crore and pass-through charges dropped 19.45 per cent to Rs 10,457 crore, the release further said.

Around 912 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for uplinking or downlinking or both.

Out of 902 permitted satellite TV channels which are available for downlinking in India, there are 333 satellite pay TV channels as of June 30, 2025, the release noted.

/IANS