MTNL tops in new cell connections

Continuing with the trend of adding more subscribers in Delhi and Mumbai, state-run MTNL on Thursday said it has captured over 40 per cent of new subscribers during February ahead of its private rivals.

MTNL's total customer base also crossed the 50 lakh mark as on February 28, the public sector telecom firm said in a release.

The company's share in the total GSM addition during the month stood at 39.53 per cent, adding 40,281 new customers in Delhi compared to Bharti's 27.17 per cent share and 27,693 new subscribers, it said.

Hutch garnered about 22 per cent share adding 22,328 subscribers while Idea's share in total number of new users stood at just over 11 per cent at 11,606 subscribers, it said.

In Mumbai, MTNL cornered over 45 per cent share in new additions with 54,257 subscribers, followed by Bharti at 35,422 and Hutch at 25,671 new customers. BPL Mobile added 5,135 new subscribers, it said, quoting figures from Cellular Operators Association of India.

The improved performance during February came on the back of a good show a month earlier when MTNL had captured 53 per cent of the total additions in Delhi and 39 per cent in Mumbai.

"The higher growth rate of MTNL GSM services - 'Dolphin' and 'Trump' - compared to its competitors in Delhi and Mumbai strongly indicates that customers now prefer MTNL services ever since we restarted giving cellular connections after completing network expansion in November 2004," the MTNL said.