Country`s telephony subscriber base reaches 196.71 mn

The number of telephone subscribers in India surged to 196.71 million at the end of January 2007, taking the country's teledensity to 17.45 per cent.

The total number of telephony subscribers stood at 189.93 million at the end of December 2006.

The number of wireless subscribers in the country has crossed the 156 million mark with the addition of 6.81 million users in the month of January, at a growth rate of 3.5 per cent.

The total number of wireless users -- GSM, CDMA, and WLL-F -- stood at 156.31 million at the end of January 2007 as compared to 149.50 million in December 2006, according to figures provided by telecom regulator TRAI and DoT.

The wireline subscribers registered a negative growth rate of 0.03 million with the total wireline subscriber base reaching 40.40 million at the end of January 2007.

The overall teledensity reached 17.45 in January 2007 as compared to 17.16 at the end of December 2006.

The net addition of wireless and fixed line subscribers in the first ten months of FY 2006-07 has been 56.39 million as compared to 28.39 million during the corresponding period of FY 2005-06.

Total broadband connections in the country reached 2.15 million at the end of January 2007.

During January 0.05 million broadband connections were added as compared to 0.10 million during December 2006, registering a negative growth rate.