The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday said in its Monthly Telecom Scenario report for August, 2020, that five Indian states accounted for 24.98% of total telephone connections in India. According to DoT, the number of telephone connections in India increased by 2.14 million in August with the total number of telephone connections hitting 1167.70 million. In the previous month, the total number of telephone connections in India was said to be at 1165.56 million. Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Bihar are said to have registered the “maximum rise in total telephone connections” in August.
Five Indian States Accounted for 24.98% of Total Telephone Connections
The DoT report highlights that Andhra Pradesh registered 129,599 new telephone connections in August while Assam and Bihar registered 140,311 and 720,249 connections respectively. It was also highlighted that Andhra Pradesh had the “highest share in the total telephones” at 7.53% followed by Assam, Bihar, Gujarat and Haryana.
“These five Service areas taken together accounted for 24.98% of total telephone connections in India,” the DOT said in its Monthly Telecom Scenario report.
Crucially, DoT also said that metro areas including Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata recorded a dip in the total number of telephone connections in August as compared to the previous month. The report highlights that Mumbai registered a dip of 154,941 connections in August while Delhi and Kolkata registered a dip of 102,331 and 295,341 connections respectively.
Indian Telecom Operators Register Marginal Increase in Overall Teledensity
Further, the DoT report highlights that the overall teledensity in India at the end of August hit 86.23% as compared to 86.14% in the previous month. The wireless segment is said to have accounted for 98.30% of the total connections in India as of August while wireline segment accounted for 1.70% of the total connections.
It was also said that the public sector accounted for 11.40% of the total telephone connections in India as of August, while the private sector registered 88.60% of the total connections. The report also highlighted that the rural areas accounted for 44.94% of the total connections in August as compared to 45.07% in the previous month. However, the urban areas are said to have accounted for 55.06% of the total connections in August as compared to 54.93% in the previous month.
