Telecom subscriber base rises by 1.2 million in December 2015

The telecom subscriber base increased by 1.2 million to 1,036.4 million in December 2015, according to the recent data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data.

The wireless subscriber base rose to 1,010.9 million in December 2015 compared to 1,009.5 million in November; whereas the wire line subscriber base contracted by 0.2 million to 25.5 million during the same period.  

However, the overall tele-density inched up to 81.83 per cent during the period.

The increase in total subscriber base was solely on account of new users added in urban areas, as rural areas witnessed a contraction in subscriber base, TRAI said.

The subscriber base stood at 600.7 million in urban areas and at 435.8 million in rural areas during the month of December. The share of urban subscribers, thus, increased from 57.9 per cent in November 2015 to 58 per cent in December 2015. During the same period, the share of rural subscribers reduced marginally to 42 per cent from 42.1 per cent.

Among the leading wireless service providers, Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices witnessed a contraction in their subscriber base. Other major companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone India saw their respective subscriber base rise by 2.5 million and 1.7 million in December 2015.

According to the data released by the TRAI, the private operators held 91.5 per cent market share of the wireless subscriber base in December 2015. The remaining 8.5 per cent was catered to by the two public sector undertakings, BSNL and MTNL.