Bharti dials Rs 300crore plans for AP

Company expects 130% growth in subscriber base in state

Bharti Teleservices, which operates the AirTel cellular brand, is upbeat on its increasing its subscriber base in Andhra Pradesh and plans to invest between Rs 250 crore and 300 crore in the state, in the next fiscal.

The company is targeting a 130 per cent growth in subscribers in the state during the next fiscal.

"In the current year, our growth in Andhra Pradesh has been more than 100 per cent. During the next fiscal we are expecting more growth, and we are going to invest between Rs 250 crore and 300 crore for network expansion in the state, " K Srinivas, chief operating officer, Bharti Teleservices, told media persons here on Friday, on the occasion of the launching of the new AirTel service centre-cum-zonal office in Visakhapatnam.

"In the beginning of the current fiscal, we had 3.1 lakh connections in the state. At present, it has grown up to 5.84 lakh connections and by the end of March it will touch the 6.3 lakh mark," he said, adding, "the company has set a target of 15 lakh connections by the end of the next financial year and the AirTel market share in the state will grow to 27 per cent from the existing 24 per cent."

"To achieve our ambitious targets, the company is targeting to reach out to another 100 towns in the state in the next six months." he added.

For network expansion, the company has invested Rs 225 crore in Andhra Pradesh this fiscal, and an additional amounts will be pumped in the next fiscal, he said.

"We are expecting a big growth in subscribers in the next fiscal in Andhra Pradesh. At present, all operators put together have 26 lakh subscribers, and the industry expects this to grow and touch 55 lakh connections by the end of March 2005," he said.

Bharti Mobile has proposed to introduce fixed lines in the state, once the unified licensing policy is announced, Srinivas said.

Naveen Mittal, commissioner of the Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation inaugurated the AirTel service centre-cum-zonal office at Vizag.