Accordingly, the total wireless subscribers in the country stood at 201.29 million out of the overall 241.02 million telephone subscribers that were added in August.  The total wireless subscriber (GSM, CDMA & WLL (F)) base in July was 192.98 million while the total telecom subscriber base was 232.87 million.

As many as 8.31 million subscribers have been added to the wireless segment in August while 8.06 million had subscribers joined the bandwagon in July, according to Trai.

Global standards
The tele-density in the country is now 21.2 per cent, up from 20.52 per cent in July. Simply put, Tele-density is all about the number of people owning a telephone out of every 100 people.   By global standards, India's tele-density is low but it is improving. China has a 60.3 per cent tele-density and 550 million mobile users.

Last month, GSM operators added 5.95 million subscribers, taking the total number to 147.7 million, as per the figures released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). This number, however, does not include Reliance Telecom users as the company has not yet released its figures for August.

Company wise, Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile operator added 2.05 million users in August, lifting its customer base to 46.8 million. The company now claims to have 31.7 per cent share of the GSM market.

Similarly, Vodafone Essar added 1.7 million users taking its client base to 34.1 million, or 23.1 per cent of the GSM market. State-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam added 0.72 million users in August, which pushed its user base to 29.7 million, or 20.11 per cent.

Idea Cellular of Aditya Birla Group gained 0.86 million subscribers in August, lifting its user base to 17.9 million and giving it a 12.10 per cent market share.