18.6.08

Idea Cellular set to launch in Mumbai,Bihar

Idea Cellular is close to launching operations in Mumbai.The AV Birla group telco will start services by August to become the seventh player in the highly competitive circle. Idea is also expected to roll out in Bihar before September.With these launches, Idea will cover 70% of the country. After the impending acquisition of Spice Communications, having 4.4 million subscribers in Punjab and Karnataka, Idea will have a foothold in all the major circles of India. The company is investing Rs 650 crore from IPO proceeds for the rollout in Mumbai. It has awarded a four-year contract to Ericsson, valued at $100 million. In Bihar, the investments have been made from internal accruals.Mumbai, with 14 million subscribers, is the highest-revenue generating market. According to telecom regulator Trai, the blended average revenue per month per user (prepaid+post-paid) is the highest in Mumbai at Rs 274. The postpaid ARPU is as high as Rs 630. However, wireless penetration in the financial capital is as high as 70%, signalling tough competition for Idea.Idea is expected to wean subscribers away from BPL Mobile, which has failed to gain users amid dispute between the Ruias and Vodafone Essar.BPL Mobile, once the most popular brand in Mumbai, has less than 10% share in the circle with 1.3 million users. Other operators present in the financial capital are Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Tata Indicom, MTNL and Reliance Communications.The Mumbai circle has been adding nearly 0.35 million subscribers every month while Bihar has over 10 million users and is adding 0.5 million on a monthly basis. Mumbai and Bihar jointly account for nearly 8% of total monthly wireless net additions in the country. Idea is the market leader in Maharashtra circle with around 23% share while it ranks second in Gujarat with 15% market share. Expansion will lead to low termination and interconnect charges, resulting in savings for Idea.In Mumbai, Idea will use towers of Indus Towers.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

sir, i am interested to provide my plot for establishing communication
tower of idea company.
address:-ranjitkumar
s\o Jugal prasad choudhary
rampur bhikki nellem road
near airtel tower,munger
pin-811201
contact no:-09835083799,06344-227653