India’s telecom subscriber base crosses 479 mn

September 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's GSM customer base rose by 9.31 million in August, taking the total tally to 335.5 million, data released here Thursday said. According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body of GSM operators, Bharti Airtel remained the front runner with 2.8 million additions, taking its number of subscribers to 107.9 million.

July 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The country's telecom watchdog has sought the views of the industry stakeholders on mobile number portability (MNP) charges that will help decide what service providers and a customer should pay for switching operators. MNP once implemented will allow subscribers to retain their existing mobile number when they switch from one service provider to another or from one technology to another of the same service provider.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Continuing its robust growth, the Indian telecom industry saw its gross revenues growing 2.6 percent to more than Rs.40,000 crore in the quarter ending March 31, said the sectoral watchdog here Monday. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the gross revenue of the telecom sector for the period under review stood at Rs.40,444.66 crore, as against Rs.39,408 crore in the previous quarter.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's GSM-based mobile subscriber base grew by 8.89 million in June, as compared to the 8.3 million added in May, an industry body said here Monday in a statement. According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body of GSM mobile operators, the growth was still sluggish compared to 8.97 million additions in April and 10.8 million in March.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Over 11 million telephone connections were added in May, though the increase was slightly less than that registered in the previous month, India's telecom regulator said Friday. "A total of 11.44 million telephone connections (wireline and wireless) have been added during May as compared to 11.75 million connections a month before, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian telecom industry saw a dip in the number of new subscribers in April - 11.75 million telephone connections were added, compared to 15.87 million in March, an official statement said here Monday. The number of telephone connections reached 441.47 million in April from 429.72 million a month before, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.

June 1st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian telecom industry saw a dip in the number of new subscribers in April - 11.75 million telephone connections were added, compared to 15.87 million in March, an official statement said here Monday. The number of telephone connections reached 441.47 million in April from 429.72 million a month before, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.

May 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel Friday said its mobile phone subscriber base had crossed the 100-million mark, making the company the third largest single country service provider in the world. 'Bharti Airtel has achieved 100-million subscriber mark,' said a beaming Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of the Rs.375 billion company.

April 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Showing no signs of any slowdown and backed by heavy rural demand, India added a record 15.87 million new phone connections in March, to take its telecom density to nearly 40 percent, fresh data said Wednesday. India, which already boasts of the second-largest telecom user base in the world after China's and ahead of the US, now has 429.72 million telecom subscribers, both in the wireless and mobile segments, with a record growth of 59.48 percent last fiscal.

April 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Continuing the telecom growth story, India added 15.87 million telephone connections during March as compared to 13.82 million a month earlier, says the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). With this, the total number of telephone connections reached 429.72 million at the end of March as against 413.85 million in February, a TRAI statement said.

April 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - With phone operators expected to run out of 10-digit mobile numbers soon, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is now considering an 11-digit numbering system. 'With so many telecom service providers and a growing customer base, the need for new numbers and their consequent shortage will be felt soon,' a senior telecom official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS Saturday.

January 18th, 2009 AHMEDABAD - Vodafone Essar, one of India's leading cellular service providers, has crossed the 7.5 million subscriber mark in Gujarat, a senior official of the company said Monday. Vodafone with a coverage in more than 236 cities and towns and 15,120 villages has seen its subscriber base jumping from 2 million in January 2006 to 7.5 million in January 2009 in the state.

January 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian telecom sector continued its robust growth with the wireless market growing at 9.91 percent and churning revenues worth Rs.371 billion (Rs.37,196 crore) for the second quarter ending September, an official agency said Tuesday. A total of 28.44 million subscribers was added in this quarter, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.

January 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's GSM mobile phone operators maintained their fast paced network expansion, adding 8.12 million new subscribers in December, a statement issued here said Monday. The total base of GSM subscribers has now crossed the 250 million-mark and stands at 257.85 million as on Dec 31, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a statement.

December 28th, 2008 NEW DELHI - In what should worry India's telecom industry, the country recorded a 1.06 percent dip in new telephone connections in November, according to official data released here Monday. Altogether 10.18 million telephone connections (wireline and wireless) were added in November, as compared to 10.29 million connections in October, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.