No slowdown here: GSM numbers rise 8 million in Oct

Buoyed by festive-season sales, GSM telecom companies added about 8 million subscribers in October, their highest-ever addition in any month.

According to the latest figures released by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI), the GSM operators added 7.7 million subscribers (excluding Reliance Telecom) during the month. The data assume that Reliance Telecom added about 370,000 subscribers, the same as in the previous month. The GSM subscriber base in the country is now estimated at 242 million.

Commenting on the growth, TV Ramachandran, director-general, COAI, said with cumulative GSM subscribers at an estimated 242 million, it was clear that the GSM segment would cross the historic 250 million milestone by December 2008. Bharti Airtel maintained its top rank by crossing the 80 million subscribers mark. It added 2.72 million subscribers, garnering a market share of 33.23 per cent. Its user base is now about 80.2 million.

This month too, state-owned operators continued to slip in comparison with the private operators. Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), which operates all over India, except in Delhi and Mumbai, and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, witnessed a decline in total market share.

BSNL’s share declined to 16.5 per cent as compared with 16.79 per cent in September. It added around 660,000 users in October, taking its total to around 39.84 million. The market share of MTNL declined to 1.5 per cent from 1.58 per cent last month.

AV Birla-promoted Idea Cellular added 1.2 million users and reported a total subscriber base of 31.58 million.