Rural India key to sustain mobile subscription growth

Kolkata, Jul 10(UNI) With the rural market coming as the main driver in near future, mobile subscription in the country is expected to sustain its present growth rate, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) Chairman Nripendra Mishra today said.

"We are working on the assumption that the current mobile growth is sustainable," he told reporters.

The TRAI Chairman was here to address an open house committee meeting to discuss issues relating to tariffs for cable operators in areas not covered by the Conditional Access System(CAS).

Mr Mishra said the country's mobile subscriber base was growing by 6-7 million users per month.

"If we need to reach the target of 500 million subscribers, this is the rate at which we have to grow and we have to reach the rural section of the country," he said.

The TRAI Chariman said many of the private telecom operators were looking at rural India as the potential area of real telecom explosion.

UNI