Telephone subscriber base at 14 crore; tele-density 13 per cent: TRAI
11 Apr 2006
Total number of telephone subscribes, both mobile and fixed, in the country has increased to 13.97 crore as at the end of March 2006, as per the data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Mobile subscribers at 9 crore account for almost two-thirds of the subscriber base. Fixed line subscribers at the end of the financial year were at 4.97 crore.
Subscriber figures in crores
Mobile telecom subscriber base, both GSM and CDMA combined, rose by 3.77 crore during the year 2005-06 to 9 crore, an annual growth rate of more than 72 per cent.
Mobile subscriber growth| Year | Subscriber additions | Subscriber base | Growth rate % |
| 2003-04 | 2.04 | 3.37 | 153.38 |
| 2004-05 | 1.86 | 5.23 | 55.19 |
| 2005-06 | 3.77 | 9.00 | 72.08 |
Total fixed line subscribers in the country as of end March 2006 is estimated at 4.98 crore.
Broadband subscriptions are way below the targets set by the telecom ministry. Against a target of 30 lakh for December 2005, broadband subscriber base was only 9.3 lakhs. It has subsequently increased to 13.1 lakhs by end March 2006. TRAI defines broadband as connections with download speeds of more than 256 kbps.
Ordinary internet connections (dial-up and other slow speed connections below 256 kbps) as of December 2005 end were at 68 lakhs as per TRAI data.