Tata Indicom Mulls To Set Up - Aug 12 , 2008

Tata Indicom is planning to open at least 100 low-cost retail outlets in the rural areas and small towns of Andhra Pradesh in the next two months to increase its presence. The company, presently having 2.8 million subscriber base in the State, desired to cross the three-million mark as soon as possible and by the end of the financial year we want to get as close as possible to the four-million mark.

Tata Indicom was infusing Rs 140 crore in the State in enhancing its network. The company was present in 482 places in the State and services will be launched in 68 more places within the next two months.

The survey conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had stated that the Tata Indicom''s network in Andhra Pradesh was the least congested and therefore, they are confident of giving quality service to the customer.

A First: New Mobile Users Top 10m In April

India is second in the world when it comes to the number of mobile phone subscribers in a country. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Friday announced what was being expected for some months now.

That is, India has beaten the US, and has taken the number two position in terms of wireless user base.

China is on top with an estimated 550 million wireless subscribers, while India is at 261.09 million and the US at 257.89 million as of April-end.

India added a record number, 10.16 million mobile subscribers to be precise, in April. As against that, the average monthly addition in the US is around 2 million and in China 6-7 million, according to industry data.

And look at how the competition between India and the US has been over the years. India had just 75.92 million mobile users in December 2005, while the US had 207.9 million. In December 2000, India had only 3 million mobile users and the US 109.5 million.

The telecom industry in India is aiming much beyond the 10 million monthly-addition in mobile user numbers. Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director general T.V. Ramachandran told DNA Money, "We predicted the magic figure of 10 million monthly growth. This was anticipated."

According to him, India will witness a growth rate of 11-12 million in mobile subscriber base over the coming months. The rural discount programme started by the mobile telecom industry would be a trigger for that, he said. COAI represents GSM players like Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and Aircel.

The Association of Unified Service Providers of India (AUSPI) also opined that the monthly addition in mobile subscriber numbers would soon cross 10 million, perhaps in the next two months. AUSPI secretary general S.C. Khanna said, "We are expecting to meet the target of 500 million phone connections much before the scheduled date of 2010."

Khanna also pointed out that rural telephony would be the new thrust area, providing more and more subscriber numbers. On whether such high subscriber numbers would be sustainable in the future, Ramachandran admitted that, "there would be some fluctuations". There's invariably a mammoth push in the financial year-end, he said.

Also, during festivals like Diwali, numbers go up. Number of days in a month also determine the monthly subscriber addition.

For instance, March with 31 days would sell more mobile phone connections than April with 30 days or February with 28 or 29 days, according to industry analysts.

But, as for reaching the number one spot in mobile telephony subscriber numbers it may be a long way to go. The total number of telephone connections (fixed and wireless) in India is at 300.51 million, and the teledensity at 26.22%