SingTel adds 5m subscribers by June

SingTel adds 5m subscribers by June

SINGAPORE: Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) added a record five million new mobile phone users in the Asia Pacific in the June quarter, boosting its regional base to 52.24 million, the company said Monday.

SingTel is now the largest cellular phone service provider in the region outside of China thanks to to its wholly owned Australian unit Optus and regional associates in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The end-June figure was up 40 percent from 37 million mobile subscribers a year ago, driven by strong growth in its regional businesses as the domestic market remained steady.

SingTel's four regional associates -- Thailand's Advanced Info Service, Bharti of India, Indonesia's Telkomsel and Globe of the Philippines -- have a combined subscriber base of 45 million, up 45 percent from a year ago.

SingTel's share at home was steady at more than 1.5 million in the June quarter. --AFP