India has about 500 million mobile phone numbers

By: Staff | December 15, 2009 | | No Comments

vIndianz.com (15 Dec, 2009) — By the beginning of the New Year, India will have breached a formerly impossible landmark — half a billion wireless connections — making it the second largest group of mobile phone users after China.

india_mobileOn the whole, telephone connections in India (fixed line and wireless) will be closing in on 550 million by the time you read this. This translates into a teledensity (phone connections per 100 population) of approximately 45%, an urban teledensity closer to 97% and a rural teledensity of about 18%.

India had crossed 488.40 million wireless connections at the end of October 2009 and will be breaching the half-billion wireless connections mark just about now. However, the actual number of subscribers might be under half a billion, since a few hold several SIM cards and not all of them are in use at the same time.

In sharp difference, wireline connectivity is down to 37.25 million phones, exhibiting a clear consumer fondness for wireless, including mobile phones, as a favored technology for voice and data communications. India’s broadband penetration, nevertheless, is appallingly low at 7.5 million — a consequence, say telecom experts, of policy failure, partially due to the declining use of wireline phones.

India’s telephony development is amazing in spite of the fact that the last two years have been full of controversy and litigation, with government and industry divided on critical issues like spectrum policy, tariffs and introduction of new competition.

India has 13 to 14 operators providing wireless connectivity — generally mobile — in its 22 service areas. Of these, 8-9 companies are prepared and another 5-6 are compelled to commence service to meet rollout obligations. Many of the fresh entrants who had bagged spectrum in January 2008 have been not capable to get off the ground practically two years after receiving licenses.

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