The GSM service providers in the country added 4.9 million subscribers in February, taking the total number of customers to 115.3 million at the end of the month, from 110.5 million in January this year. The mobile subscriber base in the country has crossed the 200 million mark.
On the operators' front, Idea Cellular added 568,051 subscribers, increasing its total user base to 1,36,40,000, while Hutch-Essar added 928,821 taking its total number of subscribers to 25, 343,179.
While state-owned major MTNL added 80,588 GSM users taking its total number of customers to 2,578,822, Reliance Communications added 2,34,501 increasing the total number of users to 4,110,717. BSNL added over 1 million users during the month.
According to T V Ramachandran, director general, Cellular Operators' Association of India, the GSM industry was primarily responsible for powering the overall growth of the telecom sector and is a key contributor in the 200 million milestone reached by the sector.
The growth can be attributed to the concerted efforts of the industry coupled with forward-looking policies of the government, enabling regulation and fair play for all the players.
Category 'C' circles in the country witnessed the highest rate of growth at 6.8 percent, with Himachal Pradesh recording the highest at 10.3 percent, followed by Assam at 9.3 percent. The 'B' circles ranked second at 4.9 percent, with Haryana recording the highest growth at 6.9 per cent, followed by West Bengal & Andaman & Nicobar at 6.8 percent.
Category A circles also witnessed a growth of 3.8 percent, with Andhra Pradesh recording the highest growth of 4.3 percent, followed by Maharashtra at 4.1 percent. The metro subscribers grew by 3.3 percent over the previous month, with Kolkata (4.6 percent) recording the highest growth.
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