CDMA players see slower growth in September

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) service providers added about 436,000 subscribers, including 264,000 digital mobile subscribers in September.

However, Tata Teleservices, the second largest player in the sector, witnessed a decline in its mobile subscriber base in the same month.

The overall growth percentage of CDMA-based telecom services declined to 3.63 per cent from 4 per cent witnessed in August.

With fewer people opting for wireless-in-local-loop (fixed) (WLL-F) connections in September there was a decline in the overall subscriber addition rate.

The segment added about 140,000 WLL-F subscribers in September, compared to 195,000 additions in August. The growth in digital mobile subscriptions, however, witnessed a marginal increase. 332,807

Reliance Infocomm added about 332,807 subscribers in September, compared with the 356,000 it had added in August. The September additions include 269,000 digital mobile subscribers, up from 267,000 in August.

It added 55,336 WLL-F subscribers in September, compared with 74,741 additions in this segment in August.

Tata Teleservices, along with its subsidiary Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) Ltd, lost about 8,080 mobile subscribers in September, mostly in the Maharashtra circle. The company's wireline subscriber base also declined by 1,009.

Tata Teleservices, however, added 81,133 WLL-F subscribers in September, which contributed to a total subscriber addition of 72,044.

Among other players, Shyam Telelink Ltd, which operates in Rajasthan, managed to add 5,875 wireline subscribers. It also witnessed a decline in subscriber base in the mobile and WLL-F segments. HFCL Infotel, the service provider in Punjab, added about 10,973 subscribers in September.