Airtel continues to own maximum market share: COAI report

According to a report by Cellular Operator Authority of India (COAI), Bharti Airtel has added 3.55 million subscribers during the month of January to take its total subscriber base to 269.40 million, while the whole telecom industry added 5.15 million subscribers.

The number of mobile phone subscribers showed an increase of 815.15 million in January 2017. The net increase in subscriber-base is 5.15 million in the month of January.

The report says, Airtel is closely followed by Vodafone with 206.44 million subscribers and Idea Cellular with 192.06 million subscribers.

With 33.05 per cent, Bharti Airtel continues to own the maximum market share in the industry.Vodafone and Idea own 25.33 percent and 23.56 percent market share, respectively.

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The report said that UP East added the maximum number of subscribers (74.35 million) in January. Maharashtra came second with 70.17 million mobile subscribers, with Bihar coming a close third with 69.41 million subscribers. On the other hand, Maharashtra leads in the number of new additions with 0.92 million new subscribers in the month.

Talking about the growth in the subscriber base, Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI, stated: "The numbers are impressive and motivating for the telecom sector. The growth in the subscriptions indicates that consumer base is expanding and reaching new horizons in the country."

He said, "the industry continues to provide good service and connectivity across the country and develop mobile infrastructure in far-flung regions, despite extremely trying times and poor financial health of the sector. We hope that this momentum of growth and expansion of mobile infrastructure will help us fulfill the Government's vision of a fully connected Digital India."

"We also hope that the industry will receive support in its endeavors to empower consumers and citizens through timely regulatory and policy he added.