>TELECOM SECTOR: Revival in GSM subscriber addition…

Subscriber growth continued unabated in the telecom industry. The industry added 13.5 million GSM subscribers in August 2010 –highest since April 2010. Though net adds declined in metros, it was more than compensated in all other circles. Highest traction was seen in C Circles, which added 2.0 million subscribers against just 0.9 million in July 2010. Metros recorded MoM growth of 2.3% while A and B circles grew by 3.1% each and C circles by 3.2%. BSNL and Uninor put up an impressive show. Uninor had highest ever net adds at 2.2 million subscribers while BSNL added 2.3 million subscribers. Subscriber addition for Bharti Airtel was down at 2.0 million subscribers – lowest in several quarters. Idea, Vodafone and Aircel maintained their monthly run rate in subscriber addition at 2.0 million, 2.3 million and 1.6 million, respectively.

■ Airtel – Decline in net adds
Bharti added 2.0 million subscribers as compared to the past seven month’s average of 2.9 million. Net adds for Bharti declined for the second straight month. Share in net adds also fell to 15.0% from 22.6% last month. Total subscriber base for Bharti Airtel stands at 141.3 million, with a market share of 30.4% among GSM players.

■ Uninor – Impressive show
Uninor posted its highest ever net adds at 2.2 million subscribers with strong addition coming from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, UP (E), UP (W) and Bihar. Share in net adds for August stood at 16.4%.

■ BSNL – Reviving growth
BSNL added 2.3 million subscribers in August 2010. This is very impressive looking at its past four month average of 1.1 million subscribers. The company recorded robust net adds in Haryana,
Rajasthan and Orissa.

■ New launches
Amid the intense competition, the industry witnessed several new launches by various operators in this month. Videocon launched services in Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bihar, Orissa and West Bengal. The subscriber base for Videocon stands at 3.7 million, up from 2.8 million in July. Aircel launched services in Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana with an impressive net addition of 96,248 subscribers in Punjab. Aircel added 1.6 million subscribers in line with its monthly run rate. Even Loop Mobile launched services in Haryana, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab and Rajasthan, while STel ventured into the North East. The subscriber base for Loop Mobile stood at 3.0 million while STel increased to 1.5 million.

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