Growth attributed to new players, low tariffs
Cellular subscribers in the country nearly doubled to 12.7 million in March 2003 from 6.43 million March 2002. The 97.29 per cent increase is being attributed to the entry of new players in the market and a consequent decrease in tariffs.
The B-category circles witnessed the highest growth of 124.8 per cent with subscriptions touching 3.37 million in March 2003, against 1.5 million in the same month last year.
Circle C witnessed a 123.7 per cent growth to 508,000 subscribers, while Circle A posted a 104.54 per cent growth to 4.36 million cellphone users.
The metros, which account for one-third of the cellular subscriber base, registered a growth of 72.9 per cent to touch 4.44 million subscribers in March 2003, against 2.56 million users in the corresponding month last year.
According to data released by the Cellular Operators
