Aircel to invest Rs 2,000cr in UP, Uttarakhand

GSM telecom player Aircel will invest Rs 2,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by the end of December 2009, said chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh.

The company has already spend close to Rs 750 crore in setting up necessary infrastructure. “We have set up 1,500 cell sites in UP and Uttarakhand, which would be ramped up to about 2,500 in the months to come,” Singh told the media.

On Thursday, Aircel launched its services in the two states. The company has a subscriber base of 17 million in the 16 telecom circles it currently operates. “There is a lot of potential in UP, which has a mobile penetration of only about 21 per cent and a huge rural market to explore,” he said, adding the focus would be on value-added services, personalised content, and better customer care support.

Aircel services are available in 160 towns and 2,735 villages across UP and Uttarakhand at present and by June 2009, the services would extend to 400 towns and 9,000 villages. “The postpaid service will be launched after 15 days,” Singh informed.

“Once the number portability is implemented pan-India, we see ourselves growing much faster,” he said.

A part of Malaysia’s Maxis Communications, Aircel is the market leader in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North-East and Chennai circles.