India’s telecoms industry is aggressively making up for lost time. Telephone penetration grew at a glacial pace from 0.2 per cent in 1947 to 2 per cent in 1998. Since reform of the telecoms industry the following year, growth has jumped dramatically. Penetration reached 18 per this February and continues to gain momentum.
The number of mobile phone subscribers is growing at a blistering pace and India has overtaken China as the world’s fastest-growing mobile market. Nearly 7m new mobile subscribers were added in January alone, bringing total numbers to 162.53m in February. India now has more than 200m phone subscribers, including both mobile and fixed lines.
