The Hindu Business Line : Maharashtra tops among Net users

WHEN it comes to Internet surfing, Maharashtra is the most happening State. With more than 27 per cent of the 4.9 million Internet users in the country residing in Maharashtra, it tops the chart when it comes to Internet subscriber base.

The State is followed by Delhi where 19 per cent of the country's Internet users are concentrated.

According to data available with the Department of Telecom, Maharashtra has close to 13 lakh Internet subscribers while Delhi has around nine lakh users.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka take third and fourth slots with 4.5 lakh and 3.5 lakh users respectively. The top five States, including Andhra Pradesh, account for over 70 per cent of the country's Internet user base.

BSNL is the largest ISP with 1.1 million users. Of the 190 functional ISPs in the country, the top four including MTNL and VSNL account for over 65 per cent of the subscriber base. Sify is the only standalone ISP among the top four.

Overall, the Internet subscriber base has shown an increase of around eight per cent between March and June. Though the numbers have grown by 30 per cent over the last one year, the average revenue per user for the operator has decreased by 38 per cent to Rs 250 a month over the last two quarters.

The minutes of usage have, however, remained at 400 per subscriber. Internet telephony usage, which was expected to resurrect the ailing ISP segment, has actually dipped by 18 per cent to 22 million minutes during the period.

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