Growth in cellular subscriber base slowing down in Gujarat

After registering a higher growth rate than the national average in the last few years, it appears that the growth of the cellular market in Gujarat is slowing down.

From 23.36 crore in January 2004, the total number of cellular subscribers in the country grew to 24.64 crore by the end of February 2004, an increase of 5.51 per cent.

In comparison, the total number of subscribers in Gujarat grew from 18.95 lakh in January 2004 to 19.84 lakh in February 2004, a growth of 4.70 per cent.

Although Hutch, the leading cellular service provider in the state, has been consistently adding around 50,000 subscribers every month in the previous year, the performance of Bharat Sanchar Nigam has not been as encouraging as it was about six months ago.

The subscriber base of Hutch in the state grew from 8.57 lakh in January 2004 to 9.05 lakh in February 2004, a rise of around 50,00.

However, BSNL's cellular subscriber base in Gujarat grew from 4,81,148 in January 2004 to 4,81,531, a rise of 383 connections in a month.

The other two cellular operators in the state - Idea and Airtel - have registered a growth of around 20,000 in February, as compared with the previous month.

According to COAI data, the number of Idea subscribers in Gujarat grew from 3.81 lakh in January 2004 to 4.03 lakh in February 2004, while the number of subscribers of Airtel grew from 1.74 lakh in January 2004 to 1.93 lakh in February 2004.