GSM operators lose 1.97 million users in February

Following the Supreme Court order for companies without valid spectrum licences to shut operation, India's  India's GSM operators lost 1.97 million users in February, as companies began shutting down operations, dragging the total subscriber base down to 655.59 million from around 8.52 million.

Uninor, which had closed down operations in Mumbai on 16 February was the most impacted with the company losing 8.35 million subscribers during the month.

The GSM, the most widely used telecom technology, subscriber base stood at 657.56 million as of January 31, 2013.

Uninor, which had a total of 31.77 million users, closed down operations following the Supreme Court order that operators that did not win spectrum in the previous auction should close down services.

''The loss of subscription in February also reflects the scale Uninor was able to build within three years in the circles it was compelled to close down,'' Uninor said in a statement.

''In the six circles where Uninor operations are continuing, the company has added 1.2 lakh new subscribers in February,'' it added.

Videocon and state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd were the other operators to record subscriber base erosion, with the companies losing 196,935 and 2,03,878, respectively. Aircel lost 698,506 users during the month, dragging its customer base to 60.87 million.

Bharti Airtel added 2.43 million subscribers, increasing its total of subscriber base to 186.62 million users and market share to 28.47 per cent.

Vodafone India added 2.19 million users taking its total user base to 149.89 million.

However, it was Idea Cellular that added maximum of 2.85 million new users during the month, take its total user base to 119.25 million.