Mobile

ndia's GSM telecom operator added 5.73mn new subscribers in December, taking the total base up to 171.88mn, the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) said on Wednesday.

At the end of December last year, the total GSM subscriber base stood at 105.43mn while the same was 166.15mn as at November 30, 2007.

Customers in the Metro Circle rose by 40% from the year earlier to 28.13mn, while in the A Circle the user base grew by 67% from last year's level to 62.48mn. Growth in the B Circle jumped by 68% to 62.47mn and the C Circle subscribers expanded by 74% to 18.8mn.

Company wise break-up shows that Bharti Airtel, leader in the GSM space, added 2.2mn new customers last month while Vodafone Essar saw its subscriber base swell by 1.3mn new users. Idea Cellular added 831,764 new customers and Spice Communications added 139,210 new users.

At the end of December, Bharti Airtel held a market share of 32% with a total of 55.16mn customers, while Vodafone Essar had a market share of 23.2% at 39.86mn subscribers. State-run BSNL accounted for 19% of the GSM market at 32.71mn customers and Idea held a market share of 12.25% at 21mn.