India’s GSM operators have added 48.70 lakh subscribers in November, a 0.71 per cent rise from that in previous month, taking their total to 68.80 crore.

As of October, the operators’ total user base stood at to 68.31 crore, according to data released by the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).

Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest operator by both revenues and subscriber base, added the maximum of 17 lakh users during the month under review. The New Delhi-based company’s total user base rose to 19.66 crore as of November-end, while it maintained its leadership position with a 28.57 per cent market share.

Vodafone India, the country’s second largest operator, added 13.3 lakh users during the month taking its total to 15.8 crore users. The Mumbai-based operator ranked second with a 22.97 per cent market share.

Among the operators, Idea Cellular came in third with an addition of 36,219 users. The company, a unit of business conglomerates Aditya Birla group, ranked third among the GSM operators with an 18.66 per cent market share.

Aircel, in which Malaysia’s Maxis Communications holds a majority stake, ranked second in terms of net additions. The company added 15.4 lakh users during the month, increasing its total customer base to 6.52 crore. The company, ranked fifth, posted a 9.49 per cent market share as of November-end.

While Telewings Communications (formerly Uninor, a joint venture of Unitech and Norway’s Telenor) added 36,089 users (total to 3.23 crore), Videocon added 185,846 (30.67 lakh) and State-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd added 5,933 users (34.5 lakh).

>rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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