India had 1.417 crore (14.17 million) mobile phone subscribers at the end of May, 102.8 per cent more than at the end of the same month last year, an industry body said on Thursday.
The Cellular Operators Association of India said its data showed the number of new cellular subscribers added in the month jumped nearly 30 per cent from April to 840,757.
Numbers of mobile phone users are expected to surge to 12 crore (120 million) by 2008, making the sector one of the hottest markets for global telecoms majors facing low demand in Western countries.
The main players in the cellular market are Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, 16 per cent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, state-owned telecoms giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and the Indian mobile unit of the Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate.
Other players are Idea Cellular Ltd, partly owned by US firm AT&T Wireless Services Inc, and state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.
The unlisted BSNL -- which has a licence to provide cellular services across India except New Delhi and Mumbai -- launched its services in October and has attracted hordes of new users in small towns and cities.
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