Published on 1/14/2009 9:18:09 AM
GSM subscriber base in India grew by 50% in 2008 according to the most recent data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India, an interest group made up of Indian GSM operators. GSM operators added around 8.12 million subscribers during the last month of 2008. The final growth percentage might up further as the current data does not include December subscriber addition numbers for Reliance.
Bihar (including Jharkhand) registered the highest growth (85%) followed by Orissa (70%), West Bengal including Kolkata (67%), Rajasthan (64%) and Assam (63%). Other North Eastern states and Madhya Pradesh grew by around 62%.
The high growth in these states underscores the growing penetration of mobile phones in rural, semi-urban and poorer sections of the population. While state operator BSNL has played an important role in expansion of mobile services in these states, aggressive launch by new operators like Aircel and market leaders like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone has also played a crucial role in mobile subscriber growth in these states.
GSM subscriber growth in the metro cities of Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai grew by around 34% in 2008 and they now account for around 15% of the total GSM subscribers in India. Among these big cities, Kolkata registered the highest (57%) growth, followed by Mumbai (35%).
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