MUMBAI: Apart from All India Radio and public broadcaster Prasar Bharti, there are a total of 245 private FM radio stations in operation currently, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) ‘The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators’ report for the period between January and March 2012.

According to the report, the number of telephone subscribers in India has increased from 926.53 million in December 2011 to 951.34 million in March 2012, registering a growth of 2.68 per cent over the previous quarter as against 2.16 per cent during the December 2011.

Subscription in urban areas grew from 611.19 million in December 2011 to 620.52 million in March 2012, taking the urban teledensity from 167.85 to 169.55mn. Rural subscription increased from 315.33 million to 330.82 million, while the rural teledensity increased from 37.48 to 39.22mn. Share of rural areas in total subscription has increased from 34.03 per cent at the end of December 2011 to 34.77 per cent at the end of March 2012.

Also focusing on the total number of internet subscribers in India, the report states that there has been a significant increase in the subscribers from 22.39 million in December 2011 to 22.86 million in March 2012, registering a quarterly growth rate of 2.10 per cent. Top 10 ISPs together hold 94.94 per cent of the total Internet subscriber base.

The number of broadband subscribers increased from 13.35 million in December 2011 to 13.81 million in March 2012, registering a quarterly growth of 3.44 per cent and year-over-year growth of 16.18 per cent. Also the share of broadband subscription in total Internet subscription decreased from 59.6 per cent at the end of December 2011 to 60.4 per cent at the end of March 2012. 85 per cent of the broadband subscribers are using Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology.

The report provides a broader perspective of the telecom services and presents the key parameters and growth trends for the telecom, cable TV, DTH and radio broadcasting services in India and is compiled on the basis of information furnished by the service providers.