15.9.12

Of GSM subscribers....


Mobile phone companies offering service on the GSM platform reported a net loss of 7 million in their combined subscriber base in August, for the first time in nearly a decade, signalling a possible saturation of the market. The Cellular Operators Association of India, the industry body representing all GSM operators, said that with the exception of Aircel and Loop Mobile, all other mobile phone companies have reported a loss in subscribers. The COAI data reveals that market leader Bharti Airtel’s subscriber base fell by 1.9 million customers while Vodafone lost 1.5 million and Idea Cellular lost 1.64 million. However,Uninor suffered the largest decline of 2.3 million subscribers despite launching new plans offering some of the lowest tariffs in the industry. Bharti Airtel now has 186.9 million subscribers while Vodafone and Idea Cellular have subscriber bases of 153.5 million and 115.9 million respectively. PSU telecom company MTNL lost more than 1,00,000 subscribers while Videocon reported a loss of more than 383,000 customers. Industry insiders and experts had said that the fall in subscriber numbers could be because of saturation in key markets across the country and customers opting not to renew their second or third mobile connections. India’s overall mobile user base fell for the first time in July 2012. But over 99% of the 20.71 million decline in July was due to a single company, RCOM, deactivating over 13% of its customers who had not used their phones for more than 60 days.

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