Mirroring the growth in the wireless in local loop services segment, the cellular sector added 11.5 lakh (1.15 million) users in July, taking the overall subscriber base to 1.63 crore (16.3 million).
As per the latest subscriber base figures released by the Cellular Operators Association of India, the subscriber base touched 1.63 crore in July as compared to 1.51 crore in June this year.
In Delhi, the subscriber base rose to about 23 lakh (2.3 million) in July from 21.08 lakh (2.1 million) in the previous month, as Bharti Cellular continued to lead over its rivals Hutchison Essar, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Idea, with a subscriber base of 11.1 lakh (1.1 million).
In the financial hub of Mumbai, the subscriber base rose to 20.2 lakh (2 million) during July, with Hutch leading the race with 825,000 users compared to its nearest rival -- BPL Mobile, which had a subscriber base of 700,000, during the period in reference.
The subscriber base in Chennai and Kolkata touched 574,000 and 628,000, respectively.
The cellular subscriber base in 'A' circle comprising states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, surged to 57.1 lakh (5.7 million) in July this year over 52.95 lakh (5.3 million) in the previous month.