Telecom subscribers grew by 1.98% in September: TRAI

The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,053.40 million at the end of August 2016 to 1,074.24 million at the end of September 2016, showing a monthly growth rate of 1.98 per cent, official data showed here on Friday.

The urban subscription increased from 606.46 million at the end of August to 624.38 million at the end of September while rural subscription also increased from 446.94 million to 449.86 million during the same period, according to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The monthly growth rates of urban and rural subscription were 2.95 per cent and 0.65 per cent respectively during September 2016, while overall tele-density in India increased from 82.54 at the end of August 2016 to 84.09 at the end of September 2016.

The total wireless subscriber base increased from 1,028.88 million at the end of August to 1,049.74 million at the end of September, thereby registering a monthly growth rate of 2.03 per cent.

Wireline subscriber base declined from 24.51 million at the end of August 2016 to 24.49 million at the end of September 2016.

In the month of September 2016, a total of 5 million requests were received for mobile number portability.

--IANS

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