All-India cellular subscription figures have gone up more than a million in October to touch the 19.35-million mark.
The mobile charge was led by state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which added 3,60,000 new subscribers, followed by Bharti Cellular with 2,45,000 new users.
Cellular operators have been adding more than a million new subscribers a month since free incoming calls were allowed in May.
The growth in cellular subscriptions has been complemented by an equally aggressive spurt in the number of limited mobility users in the country. Basic operators have been adding an average of a million new wireless subscribers a month. The operators are expected to announce their numbers for the month of October in the next few days.
Bharti continues to hold a clear lead in the cellular services market with 4.86 million subscribers, ahead of BSNL, which has notched up 4.37 million mobile users within a year.
Essar-Hutchison is the third largest cellular operator, with 3.59 million users, followed by Idea Cellular with 1.9 million subscribers. In October, Hutchison and Idea have added 1,75,000 and 77,468 new users, respectively.
