?The mobile subscriber base declined by 0.36 per cent from 893.84 million in December 2011 to 890.6 million in November 2012. The decline is in contrast to the 19.92 per cent growth witnessed between December 2010 and 2011, primarily due to an unprecedented decrease in the subscriber base in mid-2012.
?Private players continued to hold the majority share in the wireless segment. As of November 2012, private players accounted for around 88 per cent of the total wireless market share while the remaining was held by state-owned operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). Bharti Airtel retained its top position with the highest number of subscribers at 183.61 million (as of November 2012).
?The fixed line subscriber base continued to register a declining trend. As of November 2012, India had 30.87 million wireline subscribers, a decline of 1.82 million subscribers from 32.69 million in December 2011.
?BSNL and MTNL held 79.66 per cent share in the wireline market as of November 2012. Bharti Airtel, with 3.28 million wireline users, maintained its leadership position amongst private operators.
?The internet and broadband user base grew by 7.23 per cent to 24.01 million in September 2012 from 22.39 million in December 2011. BSNL maintained its leadership in this segment with 12.78 million users. The combined share of public sector internet service providers (BSNL and MTNL) stood at 74.85 per cent, with the remaining being held by private operators. Broadband accounted for 61.14 per cent (14.68 million users) of the internet market as of September 2012.
Telecom Statistics
Teledensity and MNP
?The overall teledensity decreased from 76.86 per cent in December 2011 to 75.55 per cent in November 2012. While wireless teledensity decreased from 74.15 per cent to 73.02 per cent during this period, wireline teledensity decreased from 2.71 per cent to 2.53 per cent.
?Mobile number portability (MNP) services were launched in India in January 2011. Over 77 million users had availed of these services as of November 2012 as compared to 32.79 million subscribers opting for the services in January 2012, representing a growth of around 135 per cent.
