India adds 4.2 m GSM mobile users in August

NEW DELHI - India, the world's fastest growing wireless services market, added more than 4.2 million new GSM users in August, the highest ever monthly additions figure, boosting the total mobile base to beyond 112 million.

The Cellular Operators' Association -- which represents nine GSM carriers -- said its user base had surged to 86.619 million customers. The additions in August exceeded 3.93 million that joined the market in July.

More than three quarters of mobile customers in India use the GSM platform. The remainder use mobile services based on CDMA technology. Four CDMA carriers are yet to report their monthly additions.

The world's lowest call rates of as little as 2 U.S. cents a minute are pulling in customers.

India's top mobile services firm by users, Bharti Airtel Ltd., 30.8 percent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., added 1.31 million GSM users, boosting its customer base to 25.648 million.

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.'s user base grew to 20.06 million as it added 1.032 million new GSM users. Hutchison Essar Ltd., majority owned by Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd., added 981,195 users to take its user base to 19.38 million customers.