|
| Orissa posts highest growth in GSM subscriber base |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar May 05, 2010, 00:50 IST |
|
Orissa has registered the highest growth among all the telecom circles in the country in terms of addition of new GSM mobile subscribers for the month of March 2010.
According to the data compiled by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the state reached a GSM subscriber base of 12.19 million by the end of March 2010 which marks a 6.23 per cent growth over 11.4 million subscribers in February. This is higher than the national average of 3.42 per cent in the same period.
Being a Category-C telecom circle, Orissa's growth potential is among the highest in the country.
Also, the state's low mobile tele-density at around 30 per cent compared to the national average of 49.6 per cent coupled with the presence of as many as 11 mobile operators offers a tremendous scope for new customer acquisitions.
Among the GSM operators in the state, market leader Airtel continued its dominant performance with the addition of 1.98 lakh new customers. Airtel which has a market share of more than 33 per cent in the Orissa circle, took up its subscriber tally from 39.36 lakh in February to 41.34 lakh in March.
Next to Airtel in terms of new customer acquisitions was S Tel, one of the latest entrants into the Indian cellular market, which added 1.42 lakh customers in March, the best ever performance since the roll out of its services. S Tel's subscriber base in the state shot up from 2.17 lakh in February to 3.59 lakh by the end of March.
State owned telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), too, posted an impressive performance by adding 1.21 lakh subscribers in Orissa in March, taking its total subscriber base to 22.85 lakh and retaining its status as the second largest GSM mobile services provider in the state.
Other operators like Idea Cellular, Vodafone Essar, Uninor and Aircel showed moderate growth in the said period, adding 40,000-60,000 subscribers.Taking into account both GSM and CDMA mobile services, Orissa's growth rate in March stood at 6.85 per cent, higher than the national average of 3.6 per cent.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
