New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) The booming telecom sector has achieved another landmark, with the country's GSM subscriber base touching 115.3 million in February, up by 4.9 million from 110.5 million in January this year.

''It is the GSM industry that is primarily responsible for powering the overall growth of the telecom sector and is a key contributor in the 200 million milestone reached by the telecom sector as a whole in February,'' said Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) Director General T V Ramachandran.

He added that this growth has been achieved as a result of the concerted efforts of the industry coupled with forward looking policies of the Government, enabling regulation and fair play for all the players.

Among all circles, category C circles witnessed the highest rate of growth at 6.8 per cent, followed by category B circles at 4.9 per cent.

Within the C circles, the highest growth was recorded by Himachal Pradesh (10.3 per cent) followed by Asom (9.3 per cent).

Within the B circles, Haryana recorded the highest growth at 6.9 per cent, followed by West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar islands at 6.8 per cent.

Category A circles also witnessed a growth of 3.8 per cent in February this year. Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest growth of 4.3 per cent followed by Maharashtra at 4.1 per cent.

The metro subscribers grew by 3.3 per cent over the previous month. Kolkata recorded the highest growth at 4.6 per cent.

UNI