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Mobile users on the rise after two-month fall

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CIOL Bureau
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NEW DELHI: New subscriber additions by India's mobile phone industry surged

about 27 per cent in June from the previous month, reversing a two month slide,

mainly on account of a fall in call charges.

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Data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) showed on

Wednesday that the industry, expected to be among the world's fastest growing

mobile markets this decade, added 349,082 customers in June, sharply up from

275,393 subscribers in May.

"The numbers appear to have risen due to a reduction in tariffs in some

markets," COAI's director general T V Ramachandran told Reuters. "On

the face of it the market is still depressed because of the new rules imposed by

the government."

New additions fell three percent in May and by a much sharper 28 per cent in

April after the government began requiring prepaid card users, the growth engine

within the sector, to provide proof of identity and all cellphone owners to file

tax returns.

At the end of June, India's cellular user base stood at 7.34 million

connections, an 80 per cent year-on-year rise.

(C) Reuters Limited.

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