The mobile subscriber base in India crossed the 100-million mark in May, making it one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, although it still lagged far behind China, an AFP report, quoting local media, said.
The AFP report said India, with a population of 1.1 billion, had 100.6 mobile phone users as of May, ranking it fifth worldwide, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.
The report said China had a mobile phone subscriber base of about 400 million at the end of 2005, and officials said the number could jump to 440 million in 2006.
In India, the mobile phone boom has been driven by cuts in call rates offered by more than 10 companies, the AFP report said.
Restrictions on phone services were lifted a decade ago, ending a state monopoly that was divided between two government-owned firms and low tariffs have spurred the rapid growth of phone services in India, where the average wage is $1.6 a day, the report further said.