India's GSM subscribers base grows by 2.58 percent

The total number of subscribers in the country crossed 494 million as against 481 million the previous month, data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) showed.
BSNL added over 2.3 million subscribers in the country, a growth of 3.32 percent over the previous month, to have a total of 72.6 million subscribers.

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel added over two million subscribers, a growth of 1.44 percent as compared to the previous month, taking its total numbers to 143 million. The operator has acquired a market share of 29 percent.

Idea Cellular signed over 1.4 million subscribers, a growth of 2.03 percent as against August, taking the total number to 74.2 million. The company now owns a market share of 15.2 percent.

Vodafone Essar added over 1.7 million customers in September, a growth of 1.56 percent over the previous month, to have a total subscriber base of 115 million. New telecom operator Uninor also showed a remarkable growth with an addition of over 2.2 million customers at a growth rate of 23.9 percent with its total number of telecom operators crossing 11 million.