Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Idea Cellular today said it would invest Rs 4,200-crore in 3G network infrastructure, including erecting around 16,000 towers by March, 2012.
A total of Rs 10,000 crore will be invested in the 3G operations which includes Rs 5,800-crore the company paid to secure licenses for spectrum in 11 circles, company Deputy Managing Director Himanshu Kapania told reporters here.
Idea launched its 3G operations in 10 cities across three circles in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat today, with an unique offering that also lets users pay per minute of usage, rather than on amount of data downloaded.
"We will be having 5,000 3G towers by March-end, 2011 which we plan to scale-up to around 16,000 by March-end next year. By that time (March 2012), we will cover 3,700 towns of the country," he said.
The company, which controlled a 13.3% share of the market by revenues in the December quarter, is targeting to touch 200 towns by April 15 which will go up to 750 by May-end, Kapania said.
The rest of the circles where it holds licences such as Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh (East) will see a roll-out by April 15, he added.
3G will result in a "significant" rise in its average revenues from an user, which on the data side, stands at Rs 15 presently, its Chief Executive, Sanjeev Aga, said.
The company is in talks with its peers for offering 3G roaming services to consumers where they have not won a license, Kapania said.