MODEL ANSWER:

The way in which Indian telecom grew between 2003-04 and 2008-09 with the number of subscribers as its measuring scale is represented in the given table.

As per the table, as the years advanced, the number of mobile phone users surged, whereas the preference to fixed line shrunk. When the former group swelled from 35.61 million in March 2003 to 98.78 million in March 2006, the number of fixed line users started declining after a nominal rise in the first three years, and this became more evident when its subscription numbers started falling then after from 41.54 million in 2005-06 to 37.96 million by 2008-09. An unparalleled growth can be seen in the number of mobile phone subscribers after March 2006 to the end of the period, adding 226.65 million to the tally. When the combined growth (both mobile and fixed) was 353.19 million over the period, the percentage changes over the previous year was the highest (46.7) between the calendar year 2006 and 2007.

Overall, it is clear from the table that the telecom industry in India had a prosperous time over the given period, with an exceptional second half in case of mobile phone subscription.

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