New Delhi, Sept 12: Trai said in a statement it expects the country's phone user base to cross 70 million by March as more people take advantage of some of the world's lowest tariffs. Combined additions of cellular, wireless in local loop and fixed-line connections were 1.9 million in August, the regulator said in a statement released late on Thursday.

"If a similar growth trend is maintained during the year, the total addition to the subscriber base is projected to exceed 20 million, taking the gross subscribers base of cellular and basic services beyond 70 million by end of fiscal year 2003/04," the statement said.
More than a dozen telecoms firms, both private and state-run, compete for a slice of the country's booming telecoms sector.
India has more than 40 million fixed-line customers, 17.4 million users of cellular services and the base for wireless in local loop mobility facilities exceeds 4.5 million.
Major players include Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, 16 per cent owned by Singapore Telecommunications; state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd; the powerful Reliance and Tata business groups and the Indian mobile unit of Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate. Bureau Report