Mumbai, Dec 20: For the first time, the number of cellular subscribers in Mumbai has overtaken the leader, New Delhi. According to figures submitted by the metro cellular operators to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) at the end of November 1997, Mumbai with 2,12,825 subscribers topped the list followed closely by Delhi with 2,09,161 subscribers. Calcutta was third with 62,241 subscribers and Chennai with 46,230 subscribers finished at the bottom of the list.

The number of cellular subscribers in the four metros has also, for the first time, crossed the five-lakh mark. At the end of November, the figure had increased to 5,30,457 from 4,91,269 a month ago, registering a growth of 7.9 per cent.

According to the figures submitted to DoT, during November, Mumbai added 26,402 new cellular subscribers whereas Delhi added only 9,704. Calcutta and Chennai added only 2,673 and 409 new subscribers respectively. With a total of 4,21,986 subscribers in Mumbai and New Delhi, the two cities put together account for 79.5 per cent of the cellular subscribers in the metros. Mumbai alone accounts for 40.12 per cent of the subscribers and Delhi accounts for a further 39.43 per cent.

Hutchison Max, one of the operators in Mumbai, added 20,764 new subscribers in November, becoming the largest cellular operator in the country, a position till now held by Bharti Cellular of Delhi. In fact, Hutchison Max has more subscribers in Mumbai than the total number in Calcutta and Chennai. Hutchison Max's competitor, BPL Mobile, during the same period, added 5,638 subscribers. Of the two operators in Delhi, Bharti added 7,020 new subscribers to its list while Essar Cellphone had 3,364 to its credit.

While Hutchison Max and Bharti Cellular have crossed a subscriber base of one lakh each, the other two cellular operators in Delhi and Mumbai are close to achieving that mark. While Essar Cellphone has 92,954 subscribers, BPL Mobile has 83,808 subscribers.

According to industry observers, Mumbai was always expected to have more subscribers than Delhi and it was surprising that it did not happen initially. "For the past few months, Mumbai has been growing faster than Delhi and it was just a matter of time before it happened," said an analyst. Industry observers added that the prepaid SIM card has been a success in Mumbai whereas it has not fared well in Delhi, leading to the faster growth in the Mumbai market.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.