MUMBAI: According to the latest data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the total cellular subscribers in the country grew to 11.75 million in February 2003, up from 6.43 million in February 2002.

However, considering that the subscriber base at the end of January 2003 was 11.16 million, the addition in February is significantly lower at 592,906 compared to the average of 675,000 in the last three months.

Subscriber base in the C circles, area with the least subscriber potential, actually jumped 98 per cent from the year-ago period, while the metro circles saw a growth of 67 per cent. The subscriber base in A circle increased by 85.61 per cent, while the B circles shot up 103 per cent.

At the end of February 2003, metro circles had 4.29 million subscribers, A circles 3.96 million, B circles 3.04 million and C circles 451,161 subscribers, the COAI data showed.

The monthly additions recorded by private operators in the circles have shown a significant rise from about one lakh in January 2003 to nearly 1.6 lakh in February 2003.

The monthly additions by BSNL have fallen from approximately 4.75 lakh to about three lakh, a fall of 35 per cent. The main difference has been noticed in the monthly additions in circle B figures.

Source: IRIS