Telecom companies are increasingly targeting rural areas to shore up their subscriber base. In April 2020, debt-ridden Vodafone Idea had the largest rural subscribers, at 16.7 crore, compared to Bharti Airtel's and Reliance Jio's (under Reliance Industries) 15.3 crore and 16.1 crore rural subscribers respectively.

In FY21, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio's rural subscriber base overtook Vodafone Idea. Airtel's rural subscriber base grew by 10.1% to 16.9 crore subscribers.  Reliance Jio's rural subscriber base grew by 10.7% to 17.9 crore subscribers. Vodafone Idea's rural subscriber base fell by 10.6% to 15 crore subscribers. Reliance Jio is the only telecom company that added rural subscribers every month between April 2020 to March 2021.