Mobile subscriber base in the country has grown by 4.24 per cent to 78.5 million in June 2006, from 75.3 million in May 2006. Bharti led the chart with 23.07 million subscribers, followed by BSNL (18.29 million) and Hutch (17.54 million), a Cellular Operators Association of India release said.
Among the metros, Kolkata led the growth pack at 3.6 per cent, followed by Chennai at 33.2 per cent.
Among all circles, Category C continued to witness the highest growth rate at 5.8 per cent, followed by B circles at 4.7 per cent and A circles at 4.4 per cent. Within C circles, the North-East registered the highest growth at 10.1 per cent, followed by the Assam circle at 7.5 per cent.
With the A category circles, Tamil Nadu was ahead at 5.3 per cent, followed by Gujarat at 4.6 per cent. Within B circles, Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest growth at 9.2 per cent, followed by West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands at 6.1 per cent.