Moa Jamir
Dimapur | January 8
The total number of telephone subscribers in Nagaland declined slightly during the July–September 2024 period, according to the latest Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators report.
The report, released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on January 1, noted a decrease in subscribers from 1.73 million in the April–June 2024 quarter to 1.70 million in the July–September quarter. This decline appears to be driven by a reduction in rural subscribers, which fell from 0.89 million to 0.86 million during the two quarters, while the urban subscriber base remained stable at 0.85 million.
As a result, the overall tele-density—or the percentage of telephone connections per 100 people—decreased from 76.54% in the April–June quarter to 74.86% in July–September.
Of the 1.70 million total subscribers in Nagaland, 1.69 million (99.41%) were wireless connections. During the July–September 2024 period, rural subscribers slightly outnumbered their urban counterparts at 0.86 million and 0.80 million, respectively.
However, both rural and urban subscriptions registered declines compared to the April–June period.
Similarly, internet subscriptions in Nagaland dropped from 1.69 million at the end of June 2024 to 1.66 million by the end of September. This decrease was mainly attributed to a decline in rural internet users, which fell from 1 million to 0.97 million during the period. The overall internet tele-density stood at 73.30% as of September 2024.
Additionally, the report highlighted that Nagaland had 81 public Wi-Fi hotspots and 262 access points as of September 30, 2024. There were 6,196 unique Wi-Fi users, and the aggregate data consumption during the July–September quarter was 13 TB (terabytes).
This marks the first time in several quarters that Nagaland has experienced a decline in its telecom subscriber base.
All-India status
Nationally, the total wireline and wireless telephone subscriptions stood at 1,190.66 million, with 662.15 million in urban areas and 528.51 million in rural areas. Unlike Nagaland, tele-density in urban India was significantly higher at 131.86%, compared to 58.48% in rural areas. The overall tele-density at the end of September 2024 stood at 84.69%.
The total number of internet subscribers across India increased from 969.60 million in June 2024 to 971.50 million in September 2024, reflecting a quarterly growth rate of 0.20%. Of these, 43.64 million were wired internet subscribers, while 927.86 million were wireless subscribers.
The internet subscriber base included 944.39 million broadband users and 27.11 million narrowband users. In Nagaland, out of 1.66 million internet subscribers, 1.64 million were broadband users.
Nationally, wireline subscribers increased from 35.11 million in June 2024 to 36.93 million in September 2024, recording a quarterly growth rate of 5.20%.
The report also noted an increase in the monthly Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for wireless services, which rose by 9.60% from Rs 157.45 in June 2024 to Rs 172.57 in September 2024.
