5.9 million new GSM mobile users in this February.
Written by vijay marko
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Though it is 3,00,000 less than that of January but still Indian telecom industry is showing its potential upto its mark.
India's leading GSM-based mobile operators added 5.9 million users in February, about 300,000 less than in January, an industry body said on Monday.
Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile firm, led the pack, signing 2.3 million new users in February to take its total to 59.7 million, data from the Cellular Operators Association of India showed.
India, the world's fastest growing wireless telecoms market, had 184.7 million subscribers on nine GSM networks by end-February, the data showed.
The figure does not include No. 2 operator Reliance Communications Ltd, which operates mainly on the rival CDMA platform but has a growing GSM customer base. The company releases its additions later.
Reliance had added 1.6 million subscribers across both platforms in January, lifting its total to 42.6 million.
In February, third-ranked Vodafone Essar, a unit of Vodafone Plc, took in 1.4 million new users, swelling its subscribers to 42.6 million, the data showed.
Idea Cellular, the fifth-largest operator by subscriber numbers, added 918,871 users in February, taking total users to 22.9 million users.
Unlisted state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the No. 4 player, added 824,284 subscribers, taking its total to 34.6 million.
Aircel, controlled by leading Malaysian mobile phone firm Maxis Communications, added 251,367 users in February, half of what it added in January. The unlisted firm operates in nine of India's 23 telecom zones.
India has been adding more than 8 million wireless users each month, with call rates as low as 2 U.S. cents, cheap handsets and a booming economy contributing to the growth.
that of January but still Indian telecom industry is showing its potential upto its mark.
