The growth story of the telecom sector continues with the total number of telephone subscribers reaching 241.02 million at the end of August and teledensity inching towards 21.2 per cent.
Of the total number of telecom users, wireless subscribers base has crossed the 200-million mark. In July, the total telecom subscriber base was 232.87 million, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Teledensity is the number of people owning a telephone out of every 100 people. By global standards, India's teledensity is low but it is improving.
China has a 60.3 per cent teledensity and 550 million mobile users. According to the telecom regulator, 8.31 million subscribers have been added to the wireless segment in August while 8.06 million had subscribers joined the bandwagon in the previous month.
By the end of August, the total wireless subscribers - GSM, CDMA & WLL(F) - base reached 201.29 million.
However, the wireline segment, which has the lowest tariff in the country, has been hit as the subscriber base in this segment has come down by 0.16 million to stand at 39.73 million by the end of August.
Broadband connections have reached 2.56 million with the addition of 0.09 million new subscribers in the said period.
Last month, GSM operators added 5.95 million subscribers, taking the total number to 147.7 million, as per the figures released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). This number, however, does not include Reliance Telecom users as the company has not yet released its figures for August.
Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile operator added 2.05 million users in August, lifting its customer base to 46.8 million. The company now has a 31.7 per cent share of the GSM market.
Vodafone Essar added 1.7 million users taking its client base to 34.1 million, or 23.1 per cent of the GSM market.
State-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd added 0.72 million users in August, which pushed its user base to 29.7 million, or 20.11 per cent.
Idea Cellular gained 0.86 million subscribers in August, lifting its user base to 17.9 million and giving it a 12.10 per cent market share.