Mobile subscriber addition declines by 30% in August

22 Sep 2011 Evaluate

A number of factors like, reduction in retailer commission, increase in tariff rates and strict identity verification requirements, have negatively affected the monthly mobile subscriber addition. In August, the Mobile phone service providers on the GSM technology added only 5.4 million subscribers, which is almost 30% less compared to July, which added around 7.64 million. The Indian telecom sector is dominated by the GSM technology for communication. The GSM (Global Standard for Mobile) accounts for more than 600 million subscribers all over India and on the other hand, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), accounts for 219 million.

As per the data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India, in the month of August Idea Cellular added around 2.3 million new subscribers almost 132% of jump in new connections from last month. While, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone which accounts for more than 50% of the GSM market added 1.1 million each in the month August.

Whereas, companies like STel and Videocon, witnessed decline in subscriber addition in August. The new telecom operators like Videocon continued its losing streak and lost around 652,000, and STel also lost around 67,000 customers in August. This fall in connections from new players, indicate that customers moved to established telecom companies. 

While, this moderation was expected in new connections, as cities are getting saturated with mobile subscribers and telecom companies are going slow with their rural operations. However, the decline has come in at a much sharper pace than expected. As per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the urban tele-density is more than 150% whereas the rural tele-density is still around 30-40%, which indicates huge opportunity of growth.

On the other hand, telecom companies are going slowly on rural expansion, as it requires more capital and investment. Tele firms have to set up new towers to improve coverage in rural areas, where they don’t have adequate presence. As the focus on urban subscriber addition reduced, service providers have also cut back on expenses by reducing commission for retail agents who sell new mobile connections. Along with the reduction in commission, telecom firms like Bharti, Vodaone, Idea and Reliance Communications has recently increased the call tariffs by around 20% mostly for calls within their respective networks.

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