Hutch launches Bengal state circle

Hutchison Essar today launched its services in West Bengal and Sikkim, making it the thirteenth licence area for the cellular service provider.

Asim Ghosh, managing director Hutchison Essar said, "After demonstrating service leadership in Kolkata, we are extending it to West Bengal and Sikkim."

The company's subscriber base in Kolkata was around six lakh.

The network would span 140 towns and cities and would provide all services currently provided by Hutch in Kolkata.

All subscribers whether postpaid or prepaid would get 32 K SIM cards, which allow for a 200 number phone book.

Kumar Ramanathan, chief executive officer (CEO) Hutchison East said, "In a major move, we will start with five Hutch shops and 30 Hutch teleshops, sprinkled across the face of the state for the convenience of our subscribers."

The company has invested Rs 1,200 crore till date in Kolkata and West Bengal circles. Ramanathan said, the potential of West Bengal circle was immense with a mobile penetration of 0.4.

Ghosh said, this was one of the fastest rollouts of service networks since the time the licence and the spectrum were awarded to the company.

"That is an indication of our commitment to West Bengal" he said.

Hutch also announced a special range of Bengali language value added services such as voice response.In the postpaid segment, Hutch was offering three plans, Talk 150, Talk 325 and Talk 599.