New Delhi, Feb 17 (UNI) Continuing its upward trend, the Indian telecom industry marked another month of growth by adding 51.5 lakh mobile subscribers in the mobile telephony market in January 2017. In the data released by COAI, the association of mobile operators in the country, the number of mobile phone subscribers showed net increase in subscriber base is 51.5 lakh in the month of January (This information includes data of all COAI members except Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited). Among the telecom companies, Bharti Airtel continues to hold the top position in January, adding another 35.5 lakh subscribers during the month to take its total subscriber base to 26.94 crore subscribers. Airtel is closely followed by Vodafone with 20.64 lakh subscribers and Idea Cellular with 19.20 lakh subscribers. With 33.05 per cent, Bharti Airtel continues to own the maximum market share in the industry. Talking about the growth in the subscriber base, Rajan S Mathews, Director General, COAI, said, “The numbers are impressive and motivating for the telecom sector. The growth in the subscriptions indicates that consumer base is expanding and reaching new horizons in the country.” He added that the industry continues to provide good service and connectivity across the country and develop mobile infrastructure in far-flung regions, despite extremely trying times and poor financial health of the sector. He said, “We hope that this momentum of growth and expansion of mobile infrastructure will help us fulfill the Government’s vision of a fully connected Digital India. We also hope that the industry will receive support in its endeavors to empower consumers and citizens through timely regulatory and policy interventions.” UNI ADP SHK 1905