(a) whether the cellular telephone system had been set up after the decision of the Government to bring revolution in the field of communication in the country;
(b) if so, the date on which such decision was taken;
(c) the total number of subscriber of cellular telephone service in the country till the end of September, 2001; and
(d) the details of the number of such subscriber in the country, State-wise?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI TAPAN SIKDAR)
(a) & (b): Sir, bids wee invited for the first time on 30.12.1991 for award of Licences for Cellular Mobile Telephone Service in the four Metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
(c) & (d): The total Cellular Subscriber in the country at the end of September, 2001, as per information furnished by Cellular Operators Association of India on behalf of Cellular operators were 48,07,700. The licences for the Cellular Service have been granted for Metro City Service Areas and Telecom Circle Service Areas, therefore, the break-up of subscribers is Service Area wise. The details are given in the Annexure.
ANNEXURE
Details of Cellular Mobile Telephone Subscribers in the country Metro Cities/Telecom Circle, Service Area-wise (AS ON SEPTEMBER,2001)
S.No. NAME OF SERVICE NO.OF SUBSCRIBERS
1. Delhi 7,62,216
2. Mumbai 7,10,218
3. Kolkata 2,04,242
4. Chennai 1,98,905
5. Andra Pradesh 3,68,649 6. Assam 21,707
7 Bihar 88,270
8. Gujarat 3,62,154
9. Haryana 72,637 10. Himachal Pra 18,011 11. Karnataka 2,95,263 12. Kerala 3,20,366 13. Madhya Pradesh 1,37,836 14. Maharashtra 3,71,287 15. North East 3,103 16. Orissa 36,754 17. Punjab 2,08,222 18. Rajasthan 85,516 19. Tamil Nadu 2,61,778 20. UP(East) 1,06,807 21. UP(West) 1,41,585 22. West Bengal 28,974
Total 48,07,700