Internet subscribers increase by 8.03 per cent

New Delhi, July 6: Internet subscriber base at the end of quarter was 9.27 million as compared to 8.58 million during the preceding quarter registering an impressive growth of 8.03 per cent.

Internet subscribers at the end of March 2007, who are accessing Internet through mobile handset (GSM/ CDMA) stood at 31.30 million.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) continued to be the leading internet provider with a market share of 45.21 per cent followed by MTNL with 19.01 per cent of market share.

The number of Broadband subscribers (with a download speed of 256 Kbps or more) was 2.34 million as on 31st March 2007 with a growth rate of 13.88 per cent over the previous quarter.

The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for dial up Internet subscribers was Rs 200 for the quarter ending March 2007.

The Minutes of Usage (MoU) for dial-up access per subscriber/month was 180 minutes while the performance of the Basic Service Providers has improved in this quarter as compared to the previous quarter with respect to the set parameters.

UNI