According to data released by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the roll-out momentum of telecom towers has declined significantly to 8,000 a year compared with 14,000 in the previous financial year.

According to DoT, over 40,000 new towers were added in 2009-10. There were 0.347 million towers on March 2011. This figure is expected to increase to 0.355 million by the end of the current year, a 2.3 per cent growth. In comparison, the year-on-year growth rate in 2008 was over 60 per cent.

The data further states that the decline in roll-out is common across all major players in this space. For instance, Bharti Infratel added 1,225 new towers between September 2010 and September 2011. Indus Towers rolled out 2,560 towers during the same period.

The decline in roll-out has been attributed to multiple reasons, the most significant of which are the failure of the new 2G operators to expand infrastructure and slow uptake of 3G services.