India's GSM subscriber base up 9.31 mn

New Delhi, Sep 10 : India's GSM customer base rose by 9.31 million in August, taking the total tally to 335.5 million, data released here Thursday said.

According to the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body of GSM operators, Bharti Airtel remained the front runner with 2.8 million additions, taking its number of subscribers to 107.9 million.

Close on the heels is Vodafone with 2.19 million additions, taking its subscriber tally to 80.8 million.

The monthly data does not include GSM subscribers of Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, which report figures separately, COAI said.

While state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) added 1.3 million subscribers, Idea Cellular too picked up pace with 1.5 million additions in August as against 1.4 million last month.

In terms of market share, Bharti Airtel led the race at 32.19 percent followed by Vodafone at 24.11 percent, BSNL at 15.5 percent and Idea at 14.9 percent.

New telecom operators like Aircel occupied 7.28 percent market share.