Aircel expands 3G footprint in UP market

Telecom operator Aircel is expanding its 3G footprint in Uttar Pradesh (East) circle to include more upcountry and sub-urban markets.

"We are expanding our 3G network to 5 new areas, including Unnao, Ballia, Barabanki, Sultanpur and Azamgarh," Aircel regional manager (central) Arvind Singh Shekhawat said here today.

Besides, two more towns Sultanpur and Azamgarh would be covered under 3G by early July.

The smaller towns are emerging as new growth centres for telecom companies with the data segment gaining ground over voice.

"In Lucknow, almost 25% of our revenues come from the data segment and it hasn't peaked yet, which shows the immense growth potential in data usage," he underlined.

He said Aircel would provide 3G speed of up to 21 mbps to allow live streaming videos, HD content, gaming, social networking and high browsing speed.

So far, the Aircel 3G services were being provided in the towns of Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Gorakhpur and Kanpur falling under the UP (E) telecom circle.

Aircle commands a subscriber base of nearly 5.2 million, of which 3,50,000 are on the 3G network, Shekhawat informed.

In the last six months, the company claimed to have clocked growth of 53% in the 3G segment.