Idea crosses 10-million customer milestone

Having recently launched its 9th circle in Himachal Pradesh, Idea Cellular, an Aditya Birla Group company and India's leading cellular operator, today announced that it crossed the 10-million customer milestone and had more than a million customers in seven of the eight circles.

The company has also raised its market share in the mobility market. Between April-August 2006, Idea added the highest number of net adds among all operators in the Idea territory.

On this landmark achievement, Vikram Mehmi, president and CEO, Idea Cellular Limited, said, "It has been an incredible journey for not only us but also our 10 million loyal customers to whom we owe our success. The last year witnessed tremendous growth in the telecom sector and we are happy to have kept pace with this progress. Our success goes beyond numbers and is attributed solely to understanding and anticipating customer requirements well in advance. This is demonstrated through various advances in unique products and services that Idea has spearheaded over the last four years."

He further added that the advantage of being an Aditya Birla group company would also enable Idea to deliver superior value to the customers.

Idea over the years has been credited with many 'firsts' in the Indian telecom history. They include the largest M&A deal in India INC, through its acquisition of Escotel in 2004 and its Rs 5,000-crore financial closure in 2003.

It is the first to launch GPRS and EDGE in the country in addition to innovative products and services like Lifetime Idea, Women's card, Idea Madhur, Background Tones, Group Talk among others.

Idea brought first 5 million customers into its fold within a period of eight years and seven months (June 96-Feb 05) followed by an explosive growth in which Idea added an additional five million customers in just 19 months (Feb 05-Sept 06).