Telephone subscribers in India rises to 1,174.80 million in January

NEW DELHI: The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,151.78 million at the end of December 16 to 1,174.80 million at the end of  January 17,   thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 2.00%, according to latest report of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

“The urban subscription declined from 683.14 million at the end of December 16 to 681.15 million at the end of   January 17,” said TRAI in a statement.

However the rural subscription increased   from 468.64 million to 493.65 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural subscription were -0.29% and 5.34% respectively during the month of January 17.

“The overall Tele-density in India increased from 89.90 at the end of Dec-16 to 91.61 at the end of January 17. The Urban Tele-density declined from 170.15 at the end of Dec-16 to 169.39 at  the  end  of   January 17,  however the Rural   Tele-density   increased   from 53.27 at the end of December 16 to 56.08 at the end of Jan-17. The share of urban subscribers and rural subscribers in total number of telephone subscribers at the end of Jan-17 was 57.98% and 42.02% respectively,” it said.

“Total   wireless   subscribers    (GSM, CDMA   &  LTE)  increased from  1,127.37 million at the end of December 16 to 1,150.45 million at  the  end  of   January 17,  thereby registering  a  monthly  growth  rate   of 2.05%.   The   Wireless subscription    in urban    areas    declined   from    662.60 million at the end of December 16 to 660.63 million at  the  end  of  Jan-17,  however wireless subscription in rural areas increased from 464.78 million to 489.82 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural wireless subscription   were -1.96% and 5.39% respectively,” a statement said.

The Wireless Tele-density (%) in India increased from 88.00 at the end of December 16 to 89.71 at the end of January 17. The Urban Wireless Tele-density declined from 165.04 at the end of December 16 to 164.29 at the end of January 17; however Rural Wireless Tele- density increased   from   52.84   to 55.64 during   the   same   period.  The share   of urban and rural wireless subscribers in total number of wireless subscribers was 57.42% and 42.58% respectively at the end of  January 17.

As on 31st  January,  2017, the private access service providers held 91.19% market share of  the wireless subscribers  whereas BSNL   and  MTNL, the  two PSU  access service providers, had a market share of only 8.81%.

“The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,151.78 million at the end of December 16 to 1,174.80 million at the end of January 17, thereby showing a monthly growth rate of 2.00%. The urban subscription declined from 683.14 million at the end of Dec-16 to 681.15 million at the end of January 17; however the rural subscription increased from 468.64 million to 493.65 million during the same period. The monthly growth rates of urban and rural subscription were -0.29% and 5.34% respectively during the month of January 17,” it said.

“Out of the total wireless subscribers (1,150.45 million), 1,005.16 million wireless subscribers were active on the date of peak VLR in the month of January 17. The proportion of active wireless subscribers was approximately 87.37% of the total wireless subscriber base,” it added.

During the  month  of  January 17,  a  total of  6.24  million requests  were received  for  Mobile number portability (MNP). With this, the cumulative MNP   requests increased from 254.82 million at the end of December 16 to 261.06 million at the end of January 17, since the implementation of MNP.

In MNP Zone-I  (Northern  and  Western India),  the highest number of requests till date have been received in Rajasthan (about  22.02 million) followed by Gujarat (about 18.89 million).

In MNP Zone-II  (Southern  and Eastern India),  the highest number of requests till date have been received in Karnataka  (about  28.94 million) followed by Andhra Pradesh (about 23.77 million).