10-20% Punjab, Haryana customers to switch to 3G: Tata

Tata Teleservices' GSM arm, Tata DoCoMo, today said it expects up to 20 per cent of its existing customers in Punjab and Haryana to switch over to its high speed 3G services within the next six months to one year.

"We think 10 to 20 per cent of our existing customers in Punjab and Haryana will shift to 3G network within a period of six months to one year," Tata DoCoMo Chief Operating Officer Aditya Gupta told reporters here today.

Tata Teleservices has 2.9 million customers in Punjab and 2.8 million subscribers in Haryana. However, Gupta refused to provide a break-up of its GSM and CDMA subscriber base in both states.

Gupta ruled out the possibility of 3G services offering high-speed Internet access affecting its CDMA customer base. "I do not think there can be affect on our CDMA subscribers because of 3G services," he asserted.

Tata Teleservices has already launched 3G services in all nine circles it bagged under the recent auction, including Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, UP (West), Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The company paid Rs 334 crore to bag the 3G licence for Punjab and Rs 260 crore for Haryana, he said.

The company will aggressively promote its 3G services through 35,000 multi-brand retail outlets in Punjab and Haryana. "We will also set up demonstration zones at 100 locations in both states to explain... The features of 3G services," he said.