India adds more than 6 mln new mobile users in Sept

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India, the world’s fastest growing wireless services market, added 6.09 million new mobile customers in September, boosting its user base to 129.53 million, the government said on Tuesday.

Of the new additions, 4.39 million opted for services that run on the widely prevalent GSM platform, while 1.7 million signed up for CDMA-based services.

The total number of new users in September was higher than the 5.9 million subscribers who joined the booming sector in August, and the 5.39 million that entered the market in July.

Carriers such as Bharti Airtel Ltd. are reacting to surging demand by expanding their networks furiously into communication starved rural areas.

The world’s cheapest local mobile call rates are also spurring customers to enter the sector.

India’s total number of wireless services users also surged after telecoms officials ruled that customers opting for fixed wireless phones, based on GSM and CDMA technology, would also be counted as mobile users.

Major players in the sector include Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications Ltd., state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Hutchison Essar Ltd.

Overall, India had 170 million telephone users in September, up from 164.1 million in August.

All the new additions are in the wireless space, while nearly 100,000 subscribers returned fixed-line connections in September.

Now 15.1 people in every 100 have a phone, up from 14.6 at the end of August.

Source- http://in.today.reuters.com