Mobile user base dips for fourth month in a row, shows Trai data

The number of mobile phone users in India decreased by 0.11 million in December, marking the fourth straight month of decline, the latest data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) showed.

Users have reduced by 0.6 million,1.82 million and 3.66 million in the three months since September.

In recent months, the number of users had increased by 1.08 million in August, 640,000 in July, and 1.89 million in June.

The decline has been concentrated in rural areas in September, November and December. The number of users in India’s vast rural hinterland fell by 0.56 million in December, lower than the 2 million fall registered in November and 3.7 million fall in September.