Kolkata cell callers soar

 As per figures provided by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the net additions in Kolkata was 47,818, which was an increase of 62 per cent over the previous month.

 Hutchison Telecom East added 30,296 subscribers during June, making it the largest net additions for the company. Bharti Mobitel added 15,410, while BSNL added 2,112.

 At the end of June the subscriber base of Hutchison in Kolkata was at 3,32,938, Bharti at 2,31,263 and that of BSNL was 24,584.

 Sunil Sood, chief operating officer Hutchison Telecom East said, this was the largest net additions for the service provider, till date. He added, total additions were in excess of 40,000 but taking the churn into consideration the net additions were in the region of 30,000.

 According to Sood, the main driver for growth was affordability. The ratio of net additions in the case of Hutch was in the ratio of 80:20 with prepaid being the preferred choice.

 With an entry cost of Rs 300 for a prepaid subscriber, the subscriber can spend the entire amount available towards outgoing calls, incoming being free.

 The Kolkata market has traditionally been sleepy vis-