Airtel to add 3500 towers in Andhra

Bharti Airtel Limited is planning to add 3,500 towers by the end of December to cover 90 per cent of the population in Andhra Pradesh from the present 78 per cent, Elango T, chief executive officer, Bharti Airtel, Andhra Pradesh circle, said.

During 2007, the company increased its market share in Andhra Pradesh by 5 per cent and was expecting the same level of growth this year too on the back of growing network, better service and low call charges, he told the media.

Airtel had so far added 3 million customers to its network in 2007-08. "This accounts for 36 per cent of the total population going mobile in the state. Now, we are looking at semi-urban and rural markets to increase our share. At present, about 30 per cent of our new connections come from rural and semi urban areas. Our aim is to get 50 per cent new connections from these rural areas in the coming days," he said.

Mobile penetration in Andhra Pradesh is still only 20 per cent, compared with 40 per cent in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. The company, therefore, feels it has enough scope to increase its business in the state.

Airtel has plans to increase the number of distributors from 800 as of January 31, 2008, to more than 1,000 during the next one year. Besides, it would increase the number of retail outlets from the existing 70,000 to 100,000 during the same period.