The Hindu : Business : Idea Cellular launches Mumbai operations

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Thursday, Aug 21, 2008
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Business

Idea Cellular launches Mumbai operations

Special Correspondent

To invest Rs. 800 crore in first year

— PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE

SUITE OF SERVICES: Kumar Mangalam Birla (left), Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, and Sanjeev Aga, MD, Ideal Cellular, at a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday.

MUMBAI: Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla group company and a leading mobile service provider, has launched its mobile service in Mumbai. According to the company, this is the biggest ever single city launch by any telecom company and it will have an initial network of over 1,000 cell sites. The network will operate on 1,800 Mhz frequency on a pooled core switching network with 2.75 G capabilities and EDGE services.

Addressing the media, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said, “Idea will become among the three largest players in the country in the next couple of years. This year, we will invest Rs. 800 crore for the Mumbai operations, including Rs. 200 crore for the licence fee. We are at present incurring losses in three States but will break-even on Mumbai operations in four years.” The company is looking at garnering 20 per cent of the net additional subscribers in Mumbai and at an approximate four million subscribers annually, the company’s target works out to eight lakh subscribers in the first year.

Idea has more than 28 million customers across 11 operational circles. It has an additional 10 licenses of which spectrum has been allotted in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Tamil Nadu, which will all be operational before the end of the financial year. Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director, Idea Cellular, said, “We are also looking at becoming practically a debt-free company and we have very strong cash flows. We are the leaders in some of the States but where we are shortly commencing operations, it would be difficult to be the leader so soon but we will be able to shake off the laggards.”

The company’s Mumbai operations will have over 60 ‘My Idea’ exclusive service centres. In addition, Idea reaches customers through 15,000 retail outlets. In terms of value-added services, Mumbai subscribers will be able to access a suite of services such as data, high-speed Internet, dialer tone in 19 languages at the press of a button and Idea Music Station with a library of over one lakh songs in 21 languages. Also, the Idea portal has a range of wall papers, games, animations and mobisodes (an episode of a television drama series condensed and broadcast to cellular phones).

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