The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has released GSM subscriber data for October 2013.
As per the association, the GSM subscriber base in the country increased by 0.64 per cent from 678.82 million in September 2013 to 683.16 million in October 2013. In October, GSM operators added 4.34 million new subscribers.
A six month comparison (from May to October 2013) highlights that the GSM subscriber base has registered steady growth-from 667.6 million to 683.16 in the period under consideration.
Operator-wise, Bharti Airtel led the pack with 194.88 million GSM users. The operator was followed by Vodafone India (156.69 million customers), Idea Cellular (128.38 million subscribers), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) (97.17 million customers), and Aircel (63.74 million customers).
Bharti Airtel added 1.49 million GSM customers in the period under review, a 0.77 per cent increase over September 2013. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (1.15 million each) registered growth of 0.74 per cent and 0.90 per cent respectively over the previous month. BSNL did not add any new subscribers in October 2013, while Aircel added 0.50 customers, a 0.79 per cent increase over September 2013.
Consequently, Bharti Airtel held 28.53 per cent market share, Vodafone India held 22.94 per cent, Idea Cellular 18.79 per cent, BSNL 14.22 per cent and Aircel 9.33 per cent.
Circle-wise, the Uttar Pradesh (East) circle had maximum number of GSM subscribers ? 59.73 million ? in October 2013. Overall, Category B circles accounted for 39.28 per cent of the GSM subscriber base, followed by Category A circles (35.01 per cent), Category C circles (14.66 per cent and metros (11.05 per cent).
Category B circles registered 268.36 million GSM subscribers, while 239.16 million customers came from Category A circles, 100.16 million from Category C circles and 75.48 million from metros.
