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Indian cellular base shoots to 18.3 million

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

NEW DELHI: India's cellular user base surged 115 percent to 18.31 million customers in the past year, the Cellular Operators Association said on Tuesday.

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The New Delhi-based industry body said in a statement 906,176 new subscribers signed up in September, slightly lower than the 1.094 million who entered the booming industry in August.

Top-ranked Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd -- 16 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd -- had 4.62 million users, followed by state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd with 4.02 million customers.

Other players in the sector include the Indian mobile unit of the Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate, Idea Cellular Ltd and state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.

Analysts expect India's nine-year-old cellular sector to have at least 100 million customers by 2008 as some of the world's lowest call rates and rising disposable incomes lure users.

The cellular sector also competes with cheaper limited mobility services offered by seven private fixed-line phone firms including the powerful Reliance and Tata business groups.

© Reuters

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