At the end of Dec-2008, Indian Wireless subscriber base touched 342 mn [+49.0% yoy]. A whopping 75.5% of the subscribers are on GSM platform while the remaining 24.5% opted for CDMA. 112m wireless subs were added in 2008, 36% more than were added in 2007 (83m).
Top Mobile Service Providers in India at the end of 2008:
- Bharti Airtel – Ended 2008 with 85.65 mn subscribers
- Reliance Communications – GSM + CDMA together had 61.34 mn subscribers
- Vodafone Essar – 60.93 mn mobile subscribers
- BSNL – 41.36 mn cellular subscribers
- Idea Cellular – 34.21 mn + Spice – 3.8 mn
- Tata Teleservices / Indicom Mobile – 31.76 mn subscribers
The following pie-chart shows the market share of various mobile operators in India led by Bharti Airtel controlling 25% of the market.
Indian Metros had 56.06 mn subscribers while Circle A had 120.75 mn subscribers. Circle B is leading the telecommunication revolution with 126.82 mn subscribers while Circle C is still trying to catch up with 38.38 mn subscribers. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar had comparable ARPU / Month of Rs 320 while that of Reliance Communications is around Rs 300.
So where do you think India will end 2009 with in terms of subscribers ? Can we hit the 500 mn milestone this year ?