Global research and advisory firm Gartner Inc expects cellular subscription in India to grow by 96 per cent over the current year to record 56 million connections by 2004-end, driven by a "phenomenal growth" in both CDMA and GSM services in the country.

"The introduction of full-mobility CDMA cellular services and the aggressive competitive response by GSM operators would result in the industry breaking all records for growth in the Indian mobile market," Gartner vice-president Asia-Pacific Bertrand Bidaud said in a release on Thursday.

The pace of growth has been accelerated by the country's adoption of unified licensing regime, which has legitimised the use of limited-mobility CDMA services for wide-area cellular operations, he said.

An "unparalleled growth" in the CDMA market is driving major changes through the Indian wireless industry, prompting unprecedented cooperation between handset vendors and carriers, Gartner India principal (analyst telecom) Kobita Desai said.

These changes are expected to reshape the cellular industry landscape in the country in 2004, "which would result in both GSM and CDMA operators reducing tariffs and bringing down the entry barrier," she added.