Punjabi are more tele-savvy than others

From agriculture to mobile, it seems that Punjabi’s are really well connected. Latest figures show that the state, in the midst of T-revolution, has a tele-density of around 46%, more than double the national average of 20%. While one out of every five Indians has a telephone nationally, the figure here goes up to almost one out of two people.

A daily had reported that Latest data available with mobile and other telecom companies reveals that there are over 11 million telephone subscribers in the state with a population of over 24 million (according to the 2001 census).

“The people of Punjab are known for their flamboyance and are only too keen to adopt latest gadgets in technology that help them remain well connected,” said Airtel CEO (mobile services) Rajiv Jaitly.

Business was sluggish when Spice began its maiden venture in telephony in Punjab in June 1997. Till December 2000, the number of mobile subscribers was as low as 1, 36,509. But by June 30 this year, the figure had swelled to over 7.4 million in the global system for mobile (GSM) category, with 68% of all mobile users opting for it.

Airtel has over 2.73 million subscribers; Spice has over 2.1 million, while Hutch and BSNL have 1.35 million and 1.23 million respectively.