India adds 5 million new mobile subscribers in July

India, the world's most rapidly growing wireless services market, added at least 5 million new mobile subscribers in July, lifting its customer base to 108 million, data indicated on Tuesday.

The Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI), which represents country’s nine GSM carriers, stated 3.93 million subscribers opted for its services, while top CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) provider Reliance Communications Ltd., said it added 1.1 million new customers in July.

Monthly data of July for subscribers have not yet been released by the three other CDMA based carriers.

Reliance said its customer base hiked to 23.7 million users and expects the industry to add 6 million new users in August. The world's lowest call rates of as little as 2 U.S. cents are helping it to magnify the customers.

Over three-quarters of mobile subscribers in India use GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) technology.
India's top mobile services firm by subscribers, Bharti Airtel Ltd., 30.8% owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., added 1.26 million GSM users, increasing its customer base to 24.337 million.

India's top telecoms firm by sales, unlisted state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.'s user base increased to 19.03 million as it added 737,135 new GSM users last month.

Hutchison Essar Ltd., the Indian wireless operation of Hong Kong's Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd., added 854,903 users to lift its user base to 18.399 million customers.
The Indian Telecom market, once a backwater but now the world's fastest-growing after China, is not limited to the urban areas instead the rural India is also contributing by taking interest in the telecom services.

The number of fixed and wireless telephone connections has doubled in the past two years, to about 150 million, and Indians are further signing up for mobile-phone service at an exceptionally five million new wireless connections a month.

The Indian Ministry of Telecom has set a target for India to achieve 250 million connections and mobile coverage for 85% of the country, from current 30%, some time in 2007.