Idea slots Rs 800 cr for Mumbai

Idea Cellular, the Aditya Birla group's mobile telephone operator, today launched operations in the Mumbai circle — the country's most lucrative telecom circle. "Mumbai is the commercial capital of the country and merits world-class mobile services. The Mumbai launch will bolster our position as a leading telecom player in the country," Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said at the launch.

The GSM service provider will invest Rs 800 crore for the Mumbai circle alone, of which around Rs 600 crore has been paid as telecom licence fee.

The remaining amount will be invested to develop the circle's network and infrastructure. The Mumbai circle entry will allow the company to cover 70 per cent of the total mobile subscriber base in the country. Idea, which acquired GSM major Spice Communications that has operations in Punjab and Karnataka circles, expects to increase the coverage to 90 per cent when it launches operations in these two circles, he added.

According to Idea Cellular Managing Director Sanjeev Aga, the company is looking at grabbing 20 per cent of the new subscribers in Mumbai. The city adds around 3.5 lakh subscribers every month.