8 mn mobile users added in Oct, fixed line phones fall

NEW DELHI: Telecom operators in India, the world’s fastest-growing wireless market, added more than eight million mobile users in October while the number of fixed line subscribers decreased as preference for cellphones rises.

The country saw a net addition of about 7.89 million users in October, against 7.64 million in September. The total number of both wireless and wireline users now stands at 256.55 million, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in its latest update on subscriber figures.

The overall teledensity reached at 22.52% at the end of October from 21.85% in September this year. The total wireless subscriber base has reached 217.14 million with addition of 8.05 million subscribers in October.

In September, 7.80 million wireless users were added. In the wireline segment, subscriber base has decreased to 39.41 million in October, against 39.58 million in September.

The total broadband subscribers has reached 2.69 million during the same month, against 2.67 million at the end of September 2007.