Aircel to invest Rs 400 cr in AP

To launch mobile banking with ICICI in 60 days

GSM mobile network operator Aircel, a 74:26 joint venture between Maxis Berhad of Malaysia and the Apollo Hospitals Group, will be investing Rs 400 crore in Andhra Pradesh for 2G and 3G network enhancement in the next two years, according to chief operating officer Gurdeep Singh.

“Our commitment to the Indian market is underlined by the investment of $8 billion we have made already and a further $3 billion we plan to spend in the next three years,” he said.

Announcing the launch of the company’s 3G services in the AP circle here on Tuesday, Singh said the company, which had so far invested Rs 1,100 crore in the state, was also introducing the Huawei IDEOs phone, powered by Google’s Android 2.2 platform, in the state.

Stating that today’s launch covered the entire south, he said the company had 3G licences in 13 circles across the country and was now in the process of rolling out its 3G services in Punjab and West Bengal by the end of this month, which would complete its pan-India roll out.

“Post the pan-India roll out of our 3G services, we expect 10 per cent of our customers to migrate to 3G services in the first year and see that growing to as high as 35 per cent in three to four years,” Singh said

Aircel, which currently has 22 2G licences and eight broadband wireless access circles, has a subscriber base of 50 million, including 1.7 million in Andhra Pradesh. “Nationally, we are adding 1.6 million subscribers a month,” he said.

Replying to a query on the contribution of non-voice services to the company’s revenues, Singh said the industry at present witnessed 10.5-11 per cent revenues from non-voice services. “We expect this to grow to 25 per cent in the next two to three years,” he added.

Aircel will be launching its mobile banking service in partnership with ICICI Bank in the next 60 days, Singh said. The company had tied up with ICICI last month to jointly initiate a financial inclusion programme. Through the tie-up, Aircel will offer services including bank accounts and credit products.