Airtel is Still the Largest Telco in India: COAI Report

As per a TRAI report, Airtel & other private telcos have a total of 993.43 million mobile subscribers, including additions from Reliance Jio till May 2018

Bharti Airtel, Airtel 4G, Airtel mobile subscribers, Airtel India, Airtel network, COAI, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI)
Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

According to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Bharti Airtel maintains its top position as the largest telecom company in India with mobile subscribers reaching 344.56 million with the telco adding 10,689 subscribers alone during June.

UP (East) and Maharashtra at the top with most mobile subscribers, say analyst

COAI has reported that UP (East) circle bagged the top position with 86.88 million subscribers while Maharashtra circle bagged the second position with a total of 83.73 million mobile subscribers.

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Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI, said: “We are glad to see the constant growth of the subscribers’ base and expansion of connectivity in the rural areas. With this increasing reach, people are also shifting to 4G technology. As the Draft NDCP 2018 proposes extending exemptions for the construction of telecom towers and provide accelerated Rights of Way permissions for telecom tower, the telecom connectivity will soon reach to the last person of the country.”

He added that the growth in mobile subscribers during June is “encouraging” and that the telecom industry is working every day to make sure that connectivity reaches even the most remote corners of India.

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Behind Airtel, Vodafone India became second with 222.73 million subscribers

Ahead of the final moments of its merge with Kumar-Mangalam Birla’s Idea Cellular, Vodafone India bagged the second position in the COAI report after recording 222.73 million mobile subscribers. This result has arrived in the month wherein Vodafone’s soon-to-be partner and India’s number three telco major, Idea Cellular saw the maximum number of subscriber additions, with the numbers closing to 6.3 million, thereby bringing Idea’s total subscribers to 220.59 million.

According to data sourced from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), India’ private telecom service providers have a total of 993.43 million mobile subscribers that includes subscriber figures of Reliance Jio as of May 2018 (falling in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2018-19).

COAI said,“The telecom industry deserves an urgent and immediate intervention to encourage policy and regulatory stability, and facilitate growth, innovation and investment in the sector in view of the mounting financial debt and debilitating financial health of the industry.”

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