Cell user base zooms past 5cr

GSM-based cellular operators, led by Bharti, added about two million more subscribers in September taking total users past the 50-million milestone.

Cellular firms added 1.95 million subscribers in September - a growth of 4.01% over the previous month. The gross cellular subcriber base is now at 50.87 million, according to the latest figures released by COAI.

Bharti led the pack by adding 6.5 lakh new subscribers in September taking its gross cellular user base to 1.40 crore and a marketshare of 27.65%.

BSNL comes second with the addition of 4.9 lakh users, and its user base touched 1.19 crore in September. The company now has a marketshare of 23.39%.