SingTel subscriber base rises 34% in 2010 (Singapore)
Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. has announced that its mobile subscriber base expanded 34% to 383 million users in 2010.
SingTel had 368 million mobile phone users at the end of September 2010 and 285 million as of December 2009.
According to the company, the subscriber base of its Indian associate Bharti Airtel Ltd. rose 6% in 2010 to 199.6 million users across its operations in 19 countries including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and across Africa.
In India, Bharti’s mobile customer base increased 28% to 152 million users in 2010, while that in Africa rose 5%.
It added that SingTel’s Indonesian associate PT Telkomsel added 15% more customers, taking its mobile customer base to 94 million.
SingTel, Southeast Asia’s largest telecommunications firm by revenue, holds significant stakes in six foreign mobile operators: Bharti Airtel, PT Telkomsel, Thailand’s Advanced Info Service PCL, Pakistan’s Warid Telecom, the Philippines’ Globe Telecom Inc. and Pacific Bangladesh Telecom.
India set to become No.1 with maximum subscribers by 2013
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: India is set to become the world’s largest mobile market by gaining the top slot by 2013 with the current growth rate being 3.38% and total telecommunication density standing proudly at 52.74. According to a press release by TRAI on April 26, 2010, number of subscribers grew from 600.98 million in February to 621.28 million in March.
It has also been predicted that the subscriber base in the country will rise to 1.159 billion by the end of 2013 beating China which will have 1.106 billion around the same time. When it comes to global competition in the mobile subscriber base, India is facing challenge only from China.
But with just three national mobile operators, China mobile growth is slated to slack and while India continues to see increased competition among operators. India is not only expected to leave China behind in number of subscribers but also in subscription penetration rate.
It still remains to be seen how the recent 3G auctions and upcoming MNP regulations affect the growth of the market.
GSM ARPUs decline 14% in two years
NEW DELHI, SEPT 5: The cellular industry’s average revenues per user (ARPUs) continue to fall as the average GSM ARPU fell 8.9% to Rs 347, in June, 2006 from Rs 381 (in June, last year).The ARPU decline was despite a 49% rise in revenue of cell cos in Apr-June quarter over the same period last year.
Compared with 2004, the average GSM ARPU fell from Rs 404 (in September, 2004) to Rs 347 in June, this year, a decline of 14%.
Revenues, however, continued to rise. The revenues of private GSM mobile operators jumped to Rs 5,621 crore in April-June quarter, this year from Rs 3,760 crore in the same quarter, last year.
On a sequential basis, the adjusted gross revenue increased from Rs 4,942 crore in Q1 06 to Rs 5,621 crore in the Q2 2006-07, a sequential rise of 15%. At the end of July 2006, India’s mobile subscriber base was 111.23 million. Of this 78 million were GSM users.
“The continuous decline in ARPU is a strong evidence of the ever improving affordability of the GSM Mobile service,” said TV Ramachandran, director general COAI.
CDMA operators however disagree.
“Our ARPUs are much lower than GSM. The CDMA operators were the first to slash prices and bring mobile communication to common man,” says AUSPI’s secretary general SC Khanna.
AUSPI doesn’t record CDMA ARPUs on a regular basis, though Trai had pegged the CDMA ARPU at Rs 244, in January, this year.
Trai said CDMA postpaid ARPU were Rs 444, which were 2.3 times that of CDMA prepaid ARPU of Rs 194 for the quarter ending Sept-05.
The GSM postpaid ARPU (average revenue per user) at Rs 646 p.m was also 2.3 times that of GSM prepaid ARPU of Rs 284 p.m in the same quarter last year.
Source- http://www.financialexpress.com
Technorati : Cellular, GSM, India, Mobile
Ice Rocket : Cellular, GSM, India, Mobile
