GSM operators add 14.49 mn subscribers in March: COAI

GSM operators in the country have added 14.49 million new users in the month of March, taking the total GSM subscriber base to 569.55 million, an industry body today said.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), a body representing GSM operators in the country, said in a statement that total subscriber additions in February stood at 555.06 million.

Of these, Vodafone added 3.68 million subscribers, the highest among all the telcos during the period, taking its total user base to 134.56 million, it said.

Bharti airtel added 3.20 million new users, taking its subscriber base to 162.20 million.

Bharti airtel has a market share of 28.48%, while Vodafone has 23.63% share of the Indian telecom subscriber base, it added.

Aircel and Idea Cellular added 1.34 million and 2.70 million new users, respectively, during the month.

State-run telcos BSNL and MTNL added 1.35 million and 20,720 news subscribers in March, taking its subscriber base to 86.45 million and 5.19 million, respectively, it said.

The COAI data excludes Reliance Communications.

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the most popular standard for mobile telephony systems in the world. The other technology platform which Indian telcos offer services on is CDMA, where players such as Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications and MTS are the main operators.

TTSL and Reliance Communications offers both GSM and CDMA services, it said.