Rural mobile penetration continues to lag: Report
New Delhi: A significant mobile penetration disparity continues to exist between rural and urban India, despite affordable tariffs and nationwide availability of 4G along with the ongoing expansion of fifth-generation or 5G networks by Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, according to a report by Ookla, an internet testing firm.
Mobile penetration in India stood at 82.74% on average in the first half of 2025, according to the report. Urban mobile penetration stood at 125.3%, while rural India’s was significantly lower at 58.8% during the period. Mobile penetrationrefers to the number of telephone connections per 100 people.
