Indian GSM mobile subscribers have grown at 2.58 percent, swelling the burgeoning user base with 12.4 million users, as per the Cellular Operators Association of India. The total number of GSM users clocked in at 494 million; a rise of 13 million over the figure of 481 million users added in the previous month.
Uninor, a newcomer to the Indian telecom sector, showed staggering growth registering 2.2 million customers at rate of 23.9 percent. Its subscriber base is now pegged at 11 million, up substantially over the previous figures. BSNL subscribers grew to 72.6 million by adding 2.3 million users at a growth ate of 3.32 percent.
Idea Cellular grew at 2.03 percent, adding over 1.4 million subscribers for a total number to 74.2 million. Its market share is pegged at 15.2 percent. Bharti Airtel evinced a growth of 1.44 percent to establish a market share of 29 percent with a total of 143 million subscribers. Vodafone Essar expanded its user base to 115 million, adding 1.7 million users in the month of September for a growth of 1.56 percent compared to the last month.
This growth story comes as no surprise. As reported earlier, most of India's mobile phone sale come from low-end, high volume handsets. This is further boosted by the growth of small players like G'Five, Micromax et al and who are now right at the heels of far bigger players like Samsung and Sony Ericsson. With cellphones getting cheaper and more feature rich, this trend will even grow more prominent. The future indeed does look rosy with predictions pegging a 97 percent mobile user density by 2014.
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