Punjab to have more mobiles than landlines soon

CHANDIGARH: Punjab will soon be the first state to have more mobile connections than the landline phones, as it adds about 1lakh new mobile connections per month, against the negligible new landline connections.
According to the figures (released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), in January this year, the number of mobile connections in the state had reached about 19,13 lakh while in December 2003, the state had touched 17.79 new mobile connections.
Incidentally, Chandigarh joint Delhi as the two cities to have more mobile connections than landline in April 2003. "Punjab will be the first state in the country, to achieve this distinction and we are proud of this, as Airtel contributes a sizeable percentage of it, says Mandeep Bhatia, vice-president (sales and marketing), Airtel (Punjab circle)."
The BSNL and Connect official reveal that there were about 20 lakh landline telephone connections in the state, including about 70,000 of Connect.
Satya Pal, the principal general manager telecom (PGMT), admits that it was bound to happen some time, a household usually tends to have one landline while the mobiles are per every individual family member, and so run in multiples.
"But when it comes to voice clarity, no mobile companies cannot compete against us," remarks Satya Pal.
The Punjab circle basically has three main GSM players -- Airtel, Spice and BSNL. Another major player Reliance Infocom, with its CDMA technology has also its presence in the region. Besides a small fraction is also from Himachal Futuristic Communication Limited (HECL).
In an attempt to capture the low-end user in rural Punjab, telecom major Reliance Infocomm has launched its pre-paid
services.
"If these figures are included, then Punjab has already broken the magic figure of 20 lakh," said official from Spice Telecom.
The entry of Hutchison Essar, which bought the Punjab circle license from Escotel will launch its service in the next few months in Punjab, will further alter the situation.
"The Punjab region is very robust market and we want to capilalise on this," said Rajiv Sawhney, executive director of Hutchison Essar Telecom Limited.
Recently, the research firm Gartner said that the cellular industry would grow at about 96 per cent in 2004 to 56 million connections and overtake the landline subscribers'' base in the third quarter of this calendar year.
"The active promotion drive by the cellular companies has helped in promoting the mobile connections," said the Spice official.