Telecom subscribers’ base crosses 400-million mark
The booming telecom sector has added yet another feather in its cap, crossing the landmark figure of 400 million telecom subscribers in the country. The country's telecom subscriber base, for the quarter ending March, stood at 429.7 million, as per the data released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). This brings good news for Indian economy, which is doing well despite unfavorable market conditions of the global market due to the financial crisis.
India's wireless subscriber base was 346.89 during the quarter ending December 2008, which has increased to 391.76 million in the reporting quarter. Similarly, wire line subscriber base increased to 37.96 million, as compared to 37.90 million in the same period last year. However, it remained low for wire line connections in rural areas - where the subscriber base declined to 10.58 million from 10.68 million, reporting a marginal decrease of 0.93 per cent.
Number of Public Call Offices, in the country, increased 0.93 per cent, to 6.20 million from 5.98 million. Internet wire line subscriber base also increased to 13.54 million from
12.85 million, indicating the popularity of internet services in the country.