 "Vodafone launches 3G in Assam and Northeast circles, invests Rs 500 cr")
The company had acquired 3G spectrum for the in March 2015 at Rs 248 crore and had been concentrating on upgrading and augmenting its network since then.
“Since the penetration of 4G enabled handsets in Indian market is less than 5% currently, there is a long way to leverage 3G potential in the country. Customer wants seamless mobile internet experience and we will provide the same,” said Alok Verma, business head of Assam and Northeast circles. He was replying to a question from media as to why the company was launching 3G at a time when other service providers were preparing to launch 4G services.
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He said since April 2015 Vodafone had put up over 115 new 2G sites and 248 3G sites in the two circles, while the capacity of more than 150 existing sites had been augmented. He said the company would be investing more on upgrading and augmenting 3G network in the region in coming months, though he did not divulge any investment figure.
The company had recently announced to invest Rs 13,000 crore nationwide for capacity augmentation and new business initiatives for ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India initiatives’.
Verma said 3G network would be rolled out across all towns in the region by March 2016. Data traffic for the company have been growing at a pace of 80% year-on-year for Vodafone in Assam and Northeast circles. Revenue from data contributes to around 16% of total revenue for the company in the two circles.
Though Verma could not give any timeframe as when the company would be rolling out 4G service in Assam and Northeast circles, he said the company has begun the process of launching the service across select cities of India in a phased manner.