New Delhi: Mobile operators added a record 7.3 million users in March on the popular GSM platform, an industry body said on Friday, boosted by cheap call tariffs in the world's fastest-growing wireless market.
The jump underscored robust demand in a market where only a quarter of the population has access to a phone, and followed 5.9 million customers signed in February, data from the Cellular Operators' Association of India showed.
The mobile market in India is booming thanks to call rates of as low as one U.S. cent a minute, availability of cheap handsets and expansion of networks to smaller towns and rural areas.
At end-February, there were nearly 251 million wireless subscribers in India, behind China and the United States.
By mid-April, India is expected to become the world's second-biggest mobile market, the country's telecom regulator said last month.
Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile operator, led the signings, adding 2.3 million subscribers in March to take its to almost 62 million.
The latest data does not include Reliance Communications Ltd, India's No. 2 mobile firm, whose customers are mainly on the rival CDMA platform.
In February, it had added 1.61 million users, including on its expanding GSM services, giving it a total of 44.2 million.
Vodafone Essar Ltd, controlled by Britain's Vodafone, added 1.57 million users in March, to take its subscriber base to 44.1 million, the association said.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd added 1.64 million users in March, taking its total to 36.2 million. The firm had added 824,284 users in February.
Idea Cellular gained 1.1 million subscribers in March, lifting its user base to 24 million.
Spice Communications Ltd, which operates in only two of India's 22 telecom zones, added 126,464 users in March to have a total of 4.2 million subscribers.
State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which operates in the Delhi and Mumbai circles, added 120,020 GSM mobile subscribers in March, taking its total user base to 3.2 million. MTNL also has some CDMA subscribers.
The jump underscored robust demand in a market where only a quarter of the population has access to a phone, and followed 5.9 million customers signed in February, data from the Cellular Operators' Association of India showed.
The mobile market in India is booming thanks to call rates of as low as one U.S. cent a minute, availability of cheap handsets and expansion of networks to smaller towns and rural areas.
At end-February, there were nearly 251 million wireless subscribers in India, behind China and the United States.
By mid-April, India is expected to become the world's second-biggest mobile market, the country's telecom regulator said last month.
Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's top mobile operator, led the signings, adding 2.3 million subscribers in March to take its to almost 62 million.
The latest data does not include Reliance Communications Ltd, India's No. 2 mobile firm, whose customers are mainly on the rival CDMA platform.
In February, it had added 1.61 million users, including on its expanding GSM services, giving it a total of 44.2 million.
Vodafone Essar Ltd, controlled by Britain's Vodafone, added 1.57 million users in March, to take its subscriber base to 44.1 million, the association said.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd added 1.64 million users in March, taking its total to 36.2 million. The firm had added 824,284 users in February.
Idea Cellular gained 1.1 million subscribers in March, lifting its user base to 24 million.
Spice Communications Ltd, which operates in only two of India's 22 telecom zones, added 126,464 users in March to have a total of 4.2 million subscribers.
State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which operates in the Delhi and Mumbai circles, added 120,020 GSM mobile subscribers in March, taking its total user base to 3.2 million. MTNL also has some CDMA subscribers.
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