| The state, with the highest telecom density (nearly 47 per cent), has added more than 2.6 million new subscribers during the period. |
| The state has four players in the GSM sector: Airtel, Spice Communication, BSNL and Vodafone Essar, and three CDMA players: Reliance, Tata Teleservices and HFCL Connect. |
| Further, HFCL Connect will roll out its GSM services, thus becoming the fifth player in the GSM segment in the state as it has got the licence to start the service. |
| According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) figures upto November 2006, the state has a GSM subscriber base of 57,55,427 while the total number of GSM subscribers in the state touched 83,78,638 upto November 2007. Thus, the state has added 26,23,201 new subscribers during the period. |
| It is worth noting that Punjab has the highest tele-density of nearly 47 per cent as compared to the national average of 20 per cent. |
| While one out of every five Indians has a telephone (fixed and mobile combined) nationally, the figure in the state goes up to almost one out of two persons, with a majority of them mobile users. |
| The cellular telephony in the state was started in June 1997 by Spice Communication. Later to join the bandwagon was Airtel (February, 2002) followed by BSNL and Hutch. The preferred technology among mobile users seems the GSM with more than 69 per cent mobile users opting for it. |
| In order to further deepen its presence, the cellular companies are investing in network and infrastructure. Rajiv Jaitly, CEO (Mobile Services), Airtel, said, "There is a tremendous potential in Punjab. Airtel now covers all towns of Punjab and close to 6,400 villages, supported by a distribution reach through 26,000 retail outlets." |
| He added, "We will continue to invest in building on our state-of-the-art network and infrastructure facilities so as to provide world class services, network and coverage to our customers across Punjab." |
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