Idea Cellular Overtakes BSNL in Indian Market
India's Idea Cellular has overtaken state-controlled BSNL to become the
country's third largest GSM operator, based on the November figures from the Cellular Operators Association of India.
Idea ended the month with 55.9 million customers, compared to 55.2 million for
BSNL.
The GSM industry as a whole added 11 million subscribers to take the
countrywide tally to 366 million.
Bhart Airtel reclaime璬 the top spot for fastest growing operator after adding
2.8 million new customers. Vodafone added a shade fewer at 2.78 million new
customers.
The mid-ranked B circles continued to be the regions with the fastest growth
rates, although a recent ban on prepay phones in Jammu and Kashmir resulted in a
reported drop in mobile phone users.
Top Operators
| Rank |
Company |
Total Sub Figures |
Market Share |
| 1 |
Bharti Airtel |
116,013,951 |
31.63% |
| 2 |
Vodafone Essar |
88,607,607 |
24.16% |
| 3 |
IDEA |
55,905,178 |
15.24% |
| 4 |
BSNL |
55,186,967 |
15.05% |
| 5 |
Aircel |
29,354,370 |
8.00% |
| 6 |
Reliance Telecom |
14,607,614 |
3.98% |
| 8 |
MTNL |
4,508,251 |
1.23% |
| 9 |
Loop Mobile |
2,595,454 |
0.71% |
| |
All India |
366,779,392 |
100% |