According to the latest subscription data by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in the month of March 2013 alone, 2.87 million requests have been made for Mobile Number Portability (MNP).
As per the data reported by the service providers, by the end of March 2013 about 89.70 million subscribers have submitted their requests to different service providers for porting their mobile number. “In MNP Zone-I (Northern & Western India) maximum number of requests have been received in Rajasthan(8.55 million) followed by Gujarat (7.71 million) whereas in MNP Zone-II (Southern & Eastern) maximum number of requests have been received in Karnataka (10.72 million) followed by Andhra Pradesh Service area (8.12million),” TRAI said in its monthly telecom subscription report.
Total Telephone Subscribers in March 2013 : The number of telephone subscribers in India increased to 898.02 million at the end of March, 2013 from 892.02 million at the end of February 2013, thereby witnessing a monthly growth rate of 0.67%. With this, the overall Teledensity in India increased to 73.32 at the end of March, 2013 from 72.90 of the previous month. Delhi shows maximum teledensity followed by Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh Service areas.
Wireless Segment (GSM, CDMA & FWP) in March 2013: Total wireless subscriber base increased from 861.66 million in February 2013 to 867.80 million at the end of March 2013, registering a monthly growth of 0.71%
Reliance communications added maximum of 30.26 lakh subscribers during March 2013 followed by Vodafone, Idea and Bharti Airtel. According to the telecom regulator, Private operators hold 87.76% of the wireless market share (based on subscriber base) where as BSNL and MTNL, the two PSU operators hold only 12.24% market share.
Broadband (? 256 Kbps download) : Total Broadband subscriber base has increased from 15.00 million at the end of February 2013 to 15.05 million at the end of March 2013, there by showing a monthly growth of 0.35%. “As on 31st March 2013, there are 161 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which are providing broadband services in the country,” TRAI added.
Top five ISPs in terms of market share (based on subscriber base) are: BSNL (9.93 million), Bharti Airtel (1.40 million), MTNL (1.08 million), Hathway (0.37 million) and You Broadband (0.31 million).
