India's telecom subscriber base crosses 479 mn

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The telecom subscriber base in India increased to 479.07 million as on July 31, 2009, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said today. One month before the subscriber base was 464.82 million.

While the wireless subscription reached 441.66 million from 427.28 million in June, wireline subscription declined by 0.13 million to 37.41 million, the release said.

According to the TRAI data, the overall teledensity in India is 41.08 per cent during this period, while wireless teledensity stood at 37.87. The broadband subscriber base in the country increased by 2.7 per cent to 6.8 million from 6.62 million during the month of July.

According to the TRAI release, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagr Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) own 85.99 per cent of the market share. However, they lost 17 million subscribers, while major private wireline service providers have increased their subscriber base.