JK has 1.20 crore cell-phone subscribers

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a growth of nearly 16 lakh mobile phone subscribers in 2017, reveals the government’s Economic Survey-2017.
As per the data, the number of wireless cellular subscribers in JK by the end of 2016 was recorded as 1,04,28,635.
This number has increased to over 1, 20,80,000 subscribers in 2017.
The Economic Survey report reads that the launching of 4G services and flooding of ‘cheaper’ mobile phones in the market has been the main contributor behind increasing wireless subscribers in JK
“With the government’s favourable regulation policies and 4G services hitting the market, rapid growth is expected in the Indian telecommunication sector in the next few years,” it said.
The survey revealed that the maximum monthly growth rate in wireless subscribers in JK has been recorded in October last year.
Quoting government-owned BSNL, the Economic Survey said that its wireless subscriber base has grown up to 14.51 lakh in 2017.
“Service Switching Authority (SSA) Srinagar has the highest number of subscribers (6.08 lakh) compared to SSA Jammu (4.17 lakh),” it said.
The survey suggested that the wire line subscribers have been declining since the advent of cellular phone service in the state.
“The decline in landline phones is mainly due to the wide penetration of mobile phones. Going forward, it is expected to play a significant role in bridging the digital divide between people. The rapid rise of high end mobile phones (smart phones) has enabled the customers to access and utilize numerous software applications as utility or for entertainment,” it said.
The survey reads that the total number of telephone connections working in J&K circle of BSNL was 1.60 lakh currently.
“Out of this number 1.34 lakh were landline connections and 0.26 lakh were WLL at the end of March, 2017. In the wire-line telephone connections, including WLL, major share of 42.94% is held by Service Switching Authority (SSA) Jammu followed by 39.98% of SSA, Srinagar,” it said.
The survey also said that the JK currently had a higher tele-density than the national level.
“The overall tele-density in India increased to 92.92 at the end of October, 2017. While as the overall tele-density for J&K state is 102.51,” it said.