Telecom network operator Vodafone, which has over 200 million mobile customers in India, said it received an equity infusion of Rs 47,700 crore from Vodafone Group in the first half of the current fiscal.
This equity infusion via foreign direct investment (FDI) is largest ever FDI infusion in the country. This equity infusion of INR 47,700 crore will enable Vodafone India to make investments in spectrum and expansion of networks across various technology layers.
“We are judiciously deploying a portfolio of technologies — 2G, 3G, 4G and IoT — to cater to the connectivity needs of our retail and enterprise customers across the country,” said Vodafone India CEO Sunil Sood.
Vodafone India increased its revenue market share by 0.6 percent in the first quarter of current fiscal. Vodafone is India’s second largest telecom service provider with 22.5 percent revenue market share. Over half of the customers or 107 million are coming from rural India.
COAI says Bharti Airtel continues to lead, adding 0.70 million subscribers to its network to take the total number of Airtel subscribers to over 257 million in August 2016. Idea Cellular with about 177 million subscribers is the third largest telecom operator.
GSM operators shine
Meanwhile, GSM operators have added 2.09 million subscribers in August, says the COAI report released today. The total number of mobile subscribers as of August 2016 was 781.14 million.
At 71.51 million, the Uttar Pradesh (East) circle led with the maximum mobile subscribers, while the Bihar circle added the maximum number of subscribers for the month with 0.39 million.
Bihar has emerged as the third largest subscriber base after UP(E) and Maharashtra. Together, the three circles represent 204.91 million subscribers of the country.
“With more investments and an increased coverage, this number will continue to swell, adding even more subscribers with each passing month. Such growth is testimony to the industry’s commitment to creating seamless mobile telephony,” said Rajan S Mathews, DG, COAI.
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