GSM mobile operators add 72.5 lakh subscribers in February: COAI

GSM mobile operators added 72.5lakh subscribers in February, taking their overall user base to 76.87 crore, industry body COAI on March 16 said. The GSM subscriber base stood at 76.14 crore in January, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said.

Bharti Airtel led the pack with maximum subscribers joining its network in the reported period. The company added 29 lakh customers to take its total user base to 24.86 crore with 32.35 per cent market share at the end of February. Vodafone, the country's second largest mobile operator, added 20.34 lakh subscribers to take its overall base to 19.67 crore with 25.59 per cent market share.

Idea Cellular subscriber base increased by 14.63 lakh to take its overall base to 17.46 crore, with a market share of 22.72 per cent. Aircel added 6.10 lakh subscribers and its base increased to 8.66 crore, whereas Telenor added 2.50 lakh customers to take its base to 5.16 crore at the end of February.

State-run MTNL, which offers services in Delhi and Mumbai, witnessed a growth of 10,704 subscribers, taking its overall base to 35.47 lakh. However, Videocon Telecom lost 17,917 subscribers during the period and its base decreased to 67.27 lakh. GSM subscriber figures of BSNL, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications were not shared.