GSM operators lose ~2mn subscribers in February - Angel Broking

The GSM operators lost 1.97mn subscribers in February 2012, after a modest user addition during the previous month, taking its total base to 655.59mn. This is a 0.30% fall from previous month, according to data by Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI). The GSM operators added 0.4mn users in January 2013, arresting losses of previous two months.

Uninor, which closed down operations in Mumbai on February 16, lost 8.35mn subscribers during the month. The company, which had a total of 31.77mn users, closed down operations following the Supreme Court order that operators who did not win spectrum in the previous auction should close down services. Aircel lost 698,506 users during the month, dragging its customer base to 60.87mn. Videocon and MTNL were the other operators to record subscriber base erosion, with the companies losing 196,935 and 203,878, respectively. Bharti Airtel continued to the country's leading operator by subscribers, with the company garnering a total of 186.62mn users. It added 2.43mn subscribers, increasing its market share to 28.47% during the reporting month. Vodafone India added 2.19mn users taking its total user base to 149.89mn, while Idea Cellular added 2.86mn subscribers increasing its subscriber base to 119.26mn.

We maintain our Neutral rating on the overall telecom sector.

Source : Equity Bulls

Keywords