India adds 8.44 mn GSM subscribers in January

New Delhi -  India's GSM subscriber base grew by 1.32 percent in January with addition of 8.44 million mobile phone users, of whom Uninor alone signed up over 2.5 million customers,  according to the data released by Cellular Operators Association of India.

The total number of GSM subscribers in the country crossed 648 million as against 639.6 million in December.

Uninor, whose all 22 licences stand cancelled following the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this month, now has a market share of 6.86 percent with 38.8 million subscribers.

“In our 13 commercial circles in 2011, the highest number of subscribers chose Uninor. We are satisfied to see that this strong preference continues into 2012 as well," Uninor said in a statement.

"It is our intention to continue competing as a mass market mobile service and ensure that the Indian mobile users continue to benefit from this competition," it added.

Idea Cellular followed with an addition of 1.75 million subscribers, taking its total user base to 108 million.

Bharti Airtel added 1.3 million users to have a total of 176.95 million subscribers, while Vodafone added 8,55,349 users thus taking its subscribers base to 148.6 million.

State-run telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) added 8,60,846 customers, taking their total user base to 93.4 million.