According to figures released by the ministry of communications, basic telephones declined during the period under consideration.
The total additional phones during the current year are accounted for by the mobile phones only, which was 76.52 lakh.
However, net addition was 75.98 lakh due to negative growth of basic phones, an official release said.
The mobile phone now accounts for 598 lakh, 56.46 per cent of the total connections in the country.
The private sector grabbed a major share in the new additions in the first four months accounting for 85 per cent of the 76 lakh phones.
State owned BSNL continues to play important role in the rural telephony and provided 63,989 phones in the first four month besides 1885 village public telephones.


